GAMBICA | L@B Brief - February 2025

L@B Brief - February 2025

27 February 2025

Turbulent times in the US

AMIDST ALL the hoopla surrounding Donald Trump’s return to office, an issue has emerged with significant consequences for laboratories: the widespread layoffs currently taking place within the US public lab sector.

Reports indicate that a quarter of the workforce in nearly 60 US laboratories have been laid off. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which employs around 12,000 individuals, has dismissed 1,300 staff members. These employees constitute approximately 45% of all ‘probationary’ workers at the CDC and while many of those affected are new recruits, some were recently promoted individuals who had occupied their current roles for less than a year.

Among those made redundant are employees from the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), a programme established to train public health professionals in identifying and responding to disease outbreaks. The loss of personnel in this critical department raises concerns about the ability of the US to respond to emerging public health threats.

Cuts also affect the US National Animal Health Laboratory Network, responsible for ensuring consistency in lab efforts to monitor animal disease outbreaks. The impact will be immediate, according to Keith Poulsen, of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

“They are already struggling with staffing shortages, so if you remove all the probationary staff, you eliminate the capacity to do the work.”

Another casualty is the Livermore Lab which has closed its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office, because of the crackdown on DEI initiatives. The facility’s director, Kimberly Budil, noted that numerous laboratories are shutting down their DEI offices, laying off or reassigning staff, and implementing structural changes to comply with the new mandates. However, Budil warned of the wider implications for collaborative research environments:

“The critical importance of bringing together a broad range of ideas, backgrounds, and experiences is really how we drive excellence in our laboratories, so we remain strongly committed to upholding that focus on excellence.”

These reductions in US laboratory operations will influence scientific progress and public health, but their impact on local economies is equally significant; a 2024 report from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico reveals that, in addition to paying $1.96 billion in salaries to its local workforce, the lab spent over $1 billion with New Mexico businesses and contributed $138 million in state gross receipts tax. With an annual budget of $5.24 billion, Los Alamos National Laboratory is a crucial driver of economic activity in the region.

These changes in the US lab environment will inevitably have an impact on UK lab suppliers who may want to refocus their efforts from public to private labs in the US or to other regions altogether. If so, have a look at our sections on lab construction and forthcoming events – there is useful information there for you!

Jacqueline