Humanitarian experts warn that the agency’s end will hurt vulnerable people and undermine America’s soft power.
US President Donald Trump has been fired or moved to a location to leave almost every employee of the US Organization for International Development (USAID).
All USAID employees will be 11:59pm Sunday (04:59pm Monday) except for “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical features, core leadership and/or specially designated programs.” The aid agency said in a notice on its website.
The notification says the process of laying off about 1,600 US-based personnel will be carried out simultaneously.
“Assisted individuals will receive a specific notice on February 23, 2025 and receive further instructions and information regarding their interests and rights,” the notice states.
“Designated required personnel who are expected to continue working will be notified by the agency leadership by 5pm on February 23, 2025. [22:00 GMT]. ”
Previous notifications sent to employees said that about 2,000 US-based jobs would be eliminated.
There was no reason for the contradiction.
The move comes after a US judge on Friday cleared the path the Trump administration has pushed for plans to bring back thousands of USAID staff from overseas within 30 days.
“For personnel abroad, USAID is intended as a voluntary agency-funded return travel program and other benefits,” the USAID website said in a notice.
“USAID is committed to keeping personnel overseas safe. Until they get home, personnel will retain access to agency systems and diplomacy and other resources. Next week, we will be offering a new report on the previous page. We provide details on how to retrieve personal items from the USAID workspace and return government-issued devices.
The Trump administration, led by the government efficiency of tech billionaire Elon Musk, has moved to effectively dismantle major institutions to pay for U.S. humanitarian aid overseas.
Musk and other Trump allies who called USAID “crime organisations” and “the nest of radical Marxist vipers who hate America,” claim the agency is full of waste and fraud, and the liberals outside We pursue an ideological agenda and scope of its mission.
Former USAID officials and humanitarian workers have condemned Trump’s moves and warned that the end of aid agencies will hurt millions of vulnerable people around the world and undermine the soft power of the United States.
“Eliminating the unique response capabilities of crisis experts to help control the outbreak and stabilize displaced people – myopic, high-risk, frankly, stupid” and USAID humanitarian assistance Marcia Wong, former assistant assistant administrator at the department, spoke about X.
Founded in 1961 by former US President John F. Kennedy, USAID is the world’s largest humanitarian aid, paying more than half of Washington’s $72 billion foreign aid budget in 2023.
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