The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it is trying to rehire bird flu experts that the agency accidentally fired as part of its efforts to cut costs based on recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. 

"Although several positions supporting [highly pathogenic avian influenza] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," the USDA said in a statement to CBS News. 

The agency added that several types of workers, including veterinarians and other emergency response personnel, had been exempted from job cuts so that they could continue to work on the USDA's bird flu efforts. The agency said it "continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)."

Since the H5N1 strain of the bird flu began spreading in the U.S. in 2022, about 148 million birds have been euthanized to prevent additional infections, which has caused egg prices to spike. In March 2024, the illness was found in dairy cows for the first time, while almost 70 human cases have been identified, mostly in dairy and poultry workers, including one fatality.

The USDA's job cuts come as the Trump administration is seeking to cut costs partly by reducing the size of the federal workforce. Federal agencies on Thursday began firing probationary employees, who are typically workers with less than one or two years of experience in their current jobs and haven't yet gained civil service protections.

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