The Trump administration is placing US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) direct-hire staffers around the world on leave except those deemed essential, upending the aid agency’s six-decade mission overseas.
By the end of Friday, the major American aid organization’s official letter posted website states that nearly all of its global employees will be on leave.
” On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11: 59 pm ( EST ) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs”, the notification on the official website said.
USAID personnel given 30 days to travel back house.
About 10, 000 people around the world job for the company, as per a review by The New York Times.
The workers have 30 days to travel house, according to the notice. The rumor had been running for a while, and it was the most severe of the numerous suggestions being made to incorporate the organization into the State Department. Other options included limited closures of larger USAID operations and closures of smaller ones.
After President Donald Trump imposed a severe ice on foreign aid, dozens of USAID people were already being terminated, and plans were shut down globally. Trump’s political appointees and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ), which is budget-slashing, have completely destroyed the aid agency in the span of a few weeks despite outcry from Democratic lawmakers.
They have mandated a investing stop, which has paralyzed US-funded help and development efforts around the world, burned top leadership and staff with furloughs and layoffs, and closed Washington headquarters to staffers on Monday. The company’s computer servers were allegedly carted away by law enforcement.
On X, Musk boasted that he” spent the weekend feeding USAID into the timber chipper.”
The notice of recognize or cancellation for international staffers was made its single post after Musk’s teams took USAID’s business online over the weekend and it came up digitally on Tuesday night.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) has initiated a broad effort, backed by Trump, to reduce government spending by trillions and remove federal employees. USAID is one of its primary goals. Muss claims that the organization has funded dangerous plans and that it is a” criminal business” as a result.
The government will probably incur tens of millions of dollars in travel and relocation costs if direct-hire personnel and their families are terminated prior to their anticipated departures.
European and legal service officers who are protected from unfair dismissal and being on leave without cause include the majority of staff.
The American Foreign Service Association, a union that represents US ambassadors, sent a observe to its members informing them of the decision’s denial and stated that it was preparing legal actions to counteract or end it.
Directly employed USAID team, however, do not have much remedy and were excluded from the federal government’s voluntary buyout present.
According to news agency Associated Press, USAID staffers working worldwide have been frightened of the walk, packing up their personal belongings over the past year. As the move approached, individuals had to make heartbreaking decisions, including whether to let their kids leave school in the middle of the year. Some people gave away their pets, fearing that the Trump administration did not allow them to finish the documents necessary to bring the animals with them.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with military personnel and USAID personnel at two of the country’s largest USAID operations, El Salvador and Guatemala, on Monday and Tuesday, as the news was being made.
Editors accompanying Rubio were not permitted to attend the so-called “meet and greet” classes in those two nations, but they had been invited to a similar event on Sunday in Panama, where Rubio praised workers, especially locals, for their hard work and services.
Democrats and other politicians claim that the USAID is recognized as an independent organization and cannot be shut down without the authorization of the government.
According to the website notice, employees tasked with “mission-critical functions, primary management, and specially designated programs” are those who will be exempt from leave, and they will be informed by Thursday afternoon.
” Thank you for your service”, the see concluded.
