The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to leave fewer than 300 employees at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) out of a total of more than 10,000 employees worldwide.
Points of attention
- Nearly 10,000 USAID employees worldwide are facing layoffs, potentially jeopardizing the agency's crucial humanitarian and development projects.
- The mass layoffs could lead to the destruction of an agency that has played a significant role in saving millions of lives globally.
- Trade unions and associations have opposed the administration's plan to lay off USAID employees, filing a lawsuit against what they deem as unconstitutional and illegal actions.
- The lawsuit claims that the Trump administration's decision to liquidate USAID was made without Congressional authorization, which is required by federal law.
- The implications of these layoffs extend beyond the agency itself, creating concerns about a 'global humanitarian crisis' and affecting various countries that rely on USAID's support in education, health, and economic development.
USAID employees will be completely laid off in the US
This was reported by Reuters, citing four unnamed sources.
It is noted that only 294 agency employees will be allowed to keep their jobs, including only 12 in the African bureau and eight in the Asian bureau.
"This is outrageous," said John Brian Atwood, head of USAID from 1993 to 1999 and now a senior fellow at the Watson Institute at Brown University. According to him, the mass layoffs would effectively destroy an agency that has helped save tens of millions of lives around the world.
Some employees, according to Reuters sources, have already begun receiving layoff notices.
As stated in a statement on the USAID website, all hired employees worldwide will be furloughed starting February 7, with the exception of those "responsible for critical functions, core leadership, and specifically designated programs."
Meanwhile, the largest U.S. civil service union and the Foreign Service Association filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington on February 6 against the Trump administration over the halting of USAID projects and cuts. The plaintiffs are demanding that it block "unconstitutional and illegal actions" that have created a "global humanitarian crisis."
The defendants in the lawsuit are Trump, the State Department, and the US Treasury Department.
None of the defendants' actions to liquidate USAID were taken pursuant to Congressional authorization, the lawsuit states. "And under federal law, Congress is the only body that can legally liquidate the agency," the lawsuit states.
As a reminder, on February 4, the Trump administration announced plans to furlough all USAID employees and recall thousands of employees working outside the U.S. Before that, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that USAID was coming under his control.
USAID is a U.S. federal agency that provides humanitarian assistance and development support to countries around the world. It works in a variety of areas, including education, health, economic development, democratic reform, and response to humanitarian crises.
