Trump Administration Fires Hundreds at Voice of America

By Staff, Agencies

The Trump administration on Thursday laid off nearly 600 employees at Voice of America (VOA), the New York Times (NYT) reported on Thursday, adding that the firings targeted mostly journalists and contractors, amounting to more than a third of VOA’s workforce.

VOA has been repeatedly accused by officials in countries where it operates of conducting soft power operations or acting as a regime-change arm of the US.

The report argues that the move signals a continued effort by the administration to dismantle the broadcaster, despite a federal court ruling in April requiring the preservation of its news programming.

It is worth noting that US President Donald Trump has previously called VOA “the voice of radical America.”

According to the NYT, most of the laid-off employees were working under personal services contracts, making them more vulnerable to termination than full-time civil service staff. 

Many were foreign nationals, including journalists whose immigration status is tied to their employment at VOA. That said, they must now leave the United States by the end of June.

Michael Abramowitz, VOA’s director, called the layoffs “inexplicable” in an internal email, adding, “I am heartbroken.”