United States: According to two ex-USAID veterans along with an insider with awareness of this matter, Elon Musk’s budget reduction group is completing USAID’s structural breakup by instructing mass dismissals targeting both international personnel employed by USAID and American embassy staff stationed across agencies, as reported by Reuters.
Congress Notified of Workforce Reduction
USAID informed Congress through a Friday notice about its total workforce reduction which included the dismissal of most employees before September and the complete closure of its worldwide offices with functions absorbed into State Department operations.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has launched a recent initiative which aims to dissolve the surviving personnel within the agency.
“This is definitely the final closing out,” said one of the former senior USAID officials.
🚨 🚨 #BreakingNews All local workers, US diplomats to be fired from USAID, sources say https://t.co/08metc7Qee
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Elon Musk's cost-cutting team is finalizing the shutdown of USAID, firing thousands of employees and closing overseas offices. Most staff will be terminated by Sept…
Layoffs and Office Closures Underway
Donald Trump as U.S. President together with Musk initiated the closing of USAID through a merger with the State Department to align programs with Trump’s “America First” policies in February. The State Department did not provide an immediate response when asked for statements.
An anonymous source who previously worked at USAID reported that representatives from the human resources department delivered a conference call to regional bureaus about giving layoff notices to over 10,000 foreign employees beginning in August.
The U.S. diplomats together with civil servants who work abroad are set to receive notices according to the former officials as well as sources from within the agency.
Humanitarian Programs Dismantled Amid Accusations
Trump asserts baseless allegations about USAID alongside Musk who bases his lies on “criminal organization” accusations against the agency.
Thousands of USAID personnel received layoff notices on Friday while more than 5,000 programs were terminated and hundreds of contractors fired along with displacement of their entire staff through administrative leave which halted crucial global humanitarian support.
Impact on Global Aid and Diplomacy
The non-partisan Congressional Research Service reveals that USAID operates diplomatic offices across more than 60 nations where humanitarian relief programs receive most funding.
The four major aid recipients were Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank together with the conflict-ridden Gaza Strip.
Documents obtained from Reuters showed the entire dismissal of locally employed foreign personnel and American diplomatic staff and USAID program officers who served outside the United States.
It stated that nearly 600 American diplomats are serving abroad on secondment with USAID, but it did not specify how many American civil servants are involved. The majority will be let go in July, when “all programmatic work” is supposed to be closed.
“Every position eliminated; 100 percent of the agency is rif’d (Reduction in Force) or will be,” the summary said, and advised personnel that no one would be retained and to “focus on things to make sure you’re getting the right benefits.”