OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Hundreds of health workers in Washington state have been fired amid a gutting of the federal Health and Human Services department (HHS).

U.S. Senator Patty Murray says around 200 people from the HHS office in Seattle were abruptly let go on Tuesday, April 1.

The office is located in Seattle, but covers most of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

It also serves 272 federally recognized Tribes, the most of any HHS office in the country.

Murray says the firings will lead to a “drastically diminished” HHS presence on the ground in Washington communities.

An additional 90 firings have been reported at a CDC research office in Spokane and the regional Head Start office says all six of its federal staff members have been placed on leave without warning. Murray says the future of the offices remains “deeply unclear.”

It comes after Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his plan to cut 20,000 full time jobs in federal health agencies.