US agriculture department says it accidentally fired bird flu officials

<p>Agency works to rehire employees shortly after touting plan to ‘optimize workforce’ by cutting staff with help of Musk</p><p>The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it accidentally fired several employees working on the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/bird-flu">H5N1 avian influenza</a>, or bird flu, outbreak and is now trying to rehire them.</p><p>The about-face came after the USDA touted its plans to “<a href="https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/02/14/secretary-rollins-takes-bold-action-stop-wasteful-spending-and-optimize-usda-better-serve-american">optimize its workforce</a>” by firing workers and terminating contracts, actions aided by billionaire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>’s unofficial agency, the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), NBC News reported on Tuesday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/19/agriculture-department-fires-bird-flu-vaccine-workers">Continue reading...</a>