Feb. 23 (UPI) — The Trump administration has informed U.S. Agency for International Development employees that it was firing 2,000 workers and putting most direct-hire personnel on administrative leave, according to reports.
Trump appointees in charge of USAID announced the mass layoffs in a Sunday afternoon email to staff, which was obtained by CNN, The New York Times and The Hill.
The email states all USAID direct-hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave “with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs.”
The administrative leave is effective at 11: 59 p.m. EST Sunday.
The email further states that the 2,000 USAID personnel stationed in the United States will be the first affected in the rollout of “a Reduction-in-Force.”
The mass firing comes as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the important soft-power mechanism founded in the early 1960s with the mission to promote democratic values globally in support of U.S. foreign policy.
The Trump administration first announced it was firing thousands of USAID staff earlier this month, attracting condemnation and a lawsuit from the American Foreign Service Association.
On Friday, a federal judge permitted the Trump administration to move forward with the USAID firings.
On Sunday, the AFSA said it was “deeply disappointed by the administration’s hurried and callous decision to keep our dedicated public servants in limbo.”
“Time and time again, our members have shared how these reckless choices and the dehumanizing rhetoric directed at them have caused untold harm to their personal and professional lives,” the AFSA union said in a statement.
“Our nation’s diplomats and development professionals — who sometimes put their lives on the line in service to their country — have not been treated with respect, dignity and support they deserve and have earned.”
USAID has more than 10,000 employees, two-thirds of whom serve overseas, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.
