Around 2,000 staff members at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will lose their jobs by Monday morning, while most remaining full-time workers will be placed on temporary leave.
The news came in an email sent to staff at 2:42 p.m. Eastern Time (08:42 p.m. WAT). The message stated: “All USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally.” This leave period begins at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday (05:59 a.m. on Monday WAT).
The email went on to explain that “USAID is beginning to implement a Reduction-in-Force that will affect approximately 2,000 USAID personnel with duty stations in the United States.”
Workers affected by these changes will receive specific notices on Sunday. Those considered essential to operations will be informed by 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
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This development is part of a larger dismantling of this federal agency, which provides humanitarian aid worldwide.
The changes follow a significant legal development: on Friday, a federal judge removed a temporary order that had been preventing the government from putting thousands of agency employees on leave. After this ruling, the Trump administration continued its reorganisation of the agency throughout the weekend.
Earlier in the weekend, the changes affected staff in USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, including some workers who are responsible for responding quickly to worldwide disasters.
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