Voice of america's remaining 800 employees to get termination notices: report

The roughly 800 remaining full-time staffers at Voice of America are preparing for the worst as the US-funded international broadcaster is expected to issue mass termination notices this

week, according to a report. Four VOA employees familiar with internal discussions told the news site Politico on Wednesday that the network’s employees have been advised to expect

reduction-in-force (RIF) notices in the coming days. A senior staffer said conversations with officials at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA, indicate that the

planned notices will effectively shut down the historic broadcaster, Politico reported. The looming layoffs follow the earlier dismissal of nearly 600 contractors earlier this month by the

Trump administration. One VOA employee said the agency’s human resources department had been informed that RIF notices could go out as early as Wednesday. The wave of cuts comes in the wake

of a March 15 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which called for Voice of America and several other agencies to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with

applicable law.” EXPLORE MORE The president has frequently attacked the broadcaster, calling it “anti-Trump” and dubbing it “The Voice of Radical America.” VOA employees, however, maintain

they have adhered to their mission of delivering nonpartisan journalism. “Even if somehow the organization can survive in some form, it would take years for our newsroom to overcome the

trauma of being beaten up just for doing our job,” said VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, one of several plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the administration. “I don’t know how

we can return to our mandate to report the facts without fear or favor.” Since March, most VOA operations have remained dark. A limited number of staffers have returned to the office in

recent weeks, which employees believe is an attempt by USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake, a close Trump ally, to maintain the legal bare minimum required for agency operation. Lake has also

announced that content from the right-leaning One America News Network will now be distributed through VOA channels. Despite legal challenges mounted by VOA employees claiming the shutdown

violates First Amendment protections, a federal appeals court last week declined to block the administration’s efforts. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents VOA

staff, has demanded to bargain over the RIFs, but two employees say USAGM has yet to respond — a move that could breach the union’s collective bargaining agreement. USAGM, the Department of

Government Efficiency, and the White House all declined to comment. As the final staff departures appear imminent, VOA’s website remains frozen in time. Its most recent article is dated

March 15 — the day the president’s order was signed.