Trump administration has begun mass layoffs at Voice of America
Kyiv • UNN
The Trump administration is firing employees of Voice of America and other US-funded media. Contractors have been notified of termination of work and access to buildings.
The administration of US President Donald Trump on Sunday began mass layoffs at Voice of America and other US-funded media outlets, making it clear its intention to get rid of media long considered critical to US influence, AFP reports, UNN writes.
Details
Just one day after all employees were sent on leave, contract workers received an email informing them of their dismissal at the end of March.
In an email confirmed by several employees to AFP, contractors were told that "you must immediately cease all work and not have access to any agency buildings or systems".
Contractors make up a significant portion of Voice of America's workforce and dominate among staff in non-English language services, although recent figures were not immediately available.
Many contractors are not US citizens, meaning they are most likely dependent on their soon-to-disappear jobs to have visas to stay in the United States.
Most of Voice of America's full-time employees, who have greater legal protections, were not immediately fired, but remain on administrative leave and are ordered not to work.
Addition
Voice of America, created during World War II, broadcast in 49 languages around the world with a mission to reach countries where there is no media freedom.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order targeting the US Agency for Global Media, Voice of America's parent agency, in its latest large-scale cuts to the federal government.
In fiscal year 2023, the agency employed 3,384 people. It was requesting $950 million for the current fiscal year.
The massive cuts also "froze" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, created during the Cold War to communicate with the former Soviet bloc, and Radio Free Asia, created to provide reporting to China, North Korea, and other Asian countries with severely restricted media.
Other US-funded channels have been destroyed, including Radio Farda, a Persian-language broadcaster blocked by the Iranian government, and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network founded after the invasion of Iraq due to very critical coverage by Qatar's Al-Jazeera.
The White House said in a statement on Saturday that "taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda," an accusation rarely leveled before Trump in the calm Voice of America, which has long been aimed at countering communism.
Trump regularly criticizes media coverage of him and questions the appropriateness of funding Voice of America when it has a "firewall" ensuring its editorial independence.
Trump, on the advice of tech billionaire Elon Musk, has vowed to drastically cut the size of government to make room for tax cuts. His administration has already ended the vast majority of foreign development aid and has been slowly moving to the Department of Education.
These moves come amid China and Russia investing heavily in state media to compete with Western narratives, with China often offering free content to media in developing countries.
In an editorial on the termination of Voice of America, the Chinese state-run Global Times said that "the monopoly on information held by some traditional Western media is crumbling." "As more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see the real world and a multi-dimensional China, the demonizing narratives propagated by Voice of America will eventually become a laughingstock of time," the article reads.
White House explains Trump's decision to stop funding Voice of America16.03.25, 09:31 • 22626 views
