Hundreds of VOA and international station staff laid off after Trump's executive order

(CLO) Hundreds of employees at Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Free Europe (RFE) and other media outlets received emails over the weekend informing them that they would be banned from entering their offices and would have to surrender their press cards and work equipment, local media reported on Saturday.

The layoffs come shortly after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that designated the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) as part of the "unnecessary" federal bureaucracy.

US President Donald Trump. Photo: White House

USAGM, the parent agency of VOA, currently has about 3,500 employees and is allocated a budget of $886 million for 2024, according to the agency's latest report to the US Congress .

Along with the staff cuts, USAGM also terminated all contracts with private international radio stations it funded, including Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia.

VOA Director Michael Abramowitz said on social media that nearly his entire team of 1,300 journalists, producers and assistants at VOA has been placed on administrative leave.

The White House said the move was aimed at ensuring "taxpayers are no longer responsible for extremist propaganda activities".

Ngoc Anh (according to Xinhua News Agency, ABC)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hang-tram-nhan-vien-voa-va-cac-dai-quoc-te-bi-sa-thai-sau-sac-lenh-cua-ong-trump-post338755.html