Alex Saint was just a few days shy of her four-year anniversary as a health communications specialist with the Food and Drug Administration.

On Tuesday, she says she woke up to urgent texts, phone calls and an email sent at 5:14 a.m. informing her she was among the roughly 10,000 federal workers let go from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Saint, 36, knew layoffs were coming. That didn't make the experience any less frustrating, she says.

"I'm mad for the general public," Saint tells CNBC Make It. "My position personally was not paid for by tax dollars. Nobody saved any money by me being let go, but I'm not able to get out the things that people need to know about their medication so they can keep themselves safe. And neither can any of my coworkers."

"America's losing out on all of that because of this action," she says.

Saint's salary was paid by user fees, or costs the FDA charges to pharmaceutical companies with high profits, she says, so "I don't see how this benefits Americans at all."

Thousands of health and safety jobs eliminated

Saint knew her job was on the line Thursday when news broke March 27 that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. planned to cut a quarter of staffers from the agency — including 10,000 via layoffs and 10,000 via voluntary separation offers. The aim is to shrink the workforce to 62,000, according to HHS.

Kennedy was critical of the size of the department in a March 27 statement announcing the restructure.

"Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants," Kennedy said in the statement. "This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves."

HHS will consolidate from 28 to 15 divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, and will reduce regional offices from 10 to five, according to the statement.

According to a breakdown from HHS and reported by the Associated Press, the cuts include:

• 3,500 jobs at the FDA, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods
• 2,400 jobs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide
• 1,200 jobs at the National Institutes of Health, the world's leading health and medical research institution
• 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid

Saint and her husband, a veteran who works in the private sector, have been preparing for the layoff for weeks. She was concerned about how her job might change under a new health secretary and amid the Trump administration's efforts to drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce, she says.

The couple has two young children, ages 4 and 1, in day care, and has been working to cut costs in their household budget.

Saint drafted a LinkedIn post Sunday detailing her impending layoff and published it Tuesday.

While Saint received her "reduction in force" notice via email, other employees recounted to Federal News Network, a news site for federal employees, the "humiliating and degrading" experience of learning of their layoff by trying unsuccessfully to badge into work Tuesday morning.

Beyond federal health agencies, experts say more layoffs are expected at state and local health departments that rely on federal funding.

'We're not a line item. We're real people'

Saint started her career working in public safety communications for the County of San Diego. She is "really passionate about helping people understand things they need to know to protect themselves and their families to stay safe, and making sure there's a line of transparency between what the government is doing and the services they provide and the taxpayers who fund everything that we do," she says.

At the federal government, she worked on responses to emerging health incidents and potential threats, from the Covid-19 pandemic to drug shortages, she says. She also was responsible for helping to get information to people during times of emergencies.

She now worries about what cuts to the Health Department mean for the American public dealing with growing measles and bird flu outbreaks.

Saint says she will appeal her case to the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent, quasi-judicial agency that hears appeals from federal workers regarding personnel actions including removals, suspensions, pay cuts and furloughs. She is part of the National Treasury Employees Union, which is working to challenge the mass layoffs.

"It's frustrating for my coworkers who are real people and have been stressed out about this for days," Saint says. Among her colleagues are single parents, veterans and military spouses, she says: "Every single person — we're not a line item. We're real people."

Do you want a new career that's higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC's new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Pre-register today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.