The cuts included about 20 people in the FDA's office of neurological and physical medicine devices, several of whom worked on Neuralink, according to the two sources, who asked not to be identified because of fear of professional repercussions. That division includes reviewers overseeing clinical-trial applications by Neuralink and other companies making so-called brain-computer interface devices, the sources said.
The loss of roughly 20 employees will hamper the agency's ability to quickly and safely process medical device applications of all sorts, including Neuralink's, according to the sources and outside experts.
“We should be worried about the whole trial, and the protection of the people in the trial.”
Similar to other government agencies, the cuts affected scientists reviewing medical device applications who were probationary, one of the sources said. Probationary employees typically have less than one year or in some cases less than two years of service and have fewer legal protections.
After spending more than $250 billion to get President Donald Trump re-elected, Musk has been leading a sweeping effort to cut government spending, including at agencies that regulate his companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX.
The dismissal letters sent to the FDA reviewers cited performance reasons, even though the employees had no issues on their prior performance, and had received top-notch rankings several weeks ago, according to the two sources familiar with the matter. The supervisors of the cut employees weren't consulted before the mass layoffs and found out from their employees, the sources said.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( FDA staff reviewing Musk’s Neuralink were included in DOGE employee firings, sources say )
Also on site :