Voice of America staff braces for mass layoffs as shutdown looms

All remaining staff at Voice of America (VOA) are expected to receive reduction-in-force (RIF) notices this week, likely marking the end of the 80-year-old international news agency originally founded to counter Nazi disinformation during World War II.

According to four current employees familiar with the matter, full-time VOA staff have been informed by management to anticipate termination notices by the end of May. These expected layoffs follow the dismissal of nearly 600 VOA contractors earlier this month by the Trump administration, and would impact the roughly 800 full-time workers still employed at the agency, Caliber.Az reports, citing Politico. 

A senior VOA employee told POLITICO that internal discussions with the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — VOA’s parent organisation — suggest the cuts will impact all remaining employees, effectively shuttering the news network.

Thus far, USAGM has not responded to demands from the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing VOA staff, to bargain over the RIFs. Two employees said that failure to negotiate would violate the agency’s collective bargaining agreement. A union spokesperson declined to comment on the record.

The White House, USAGM, and the Department of Government Efficiency have also not responded to requests for comment.

VOA has largely been offline since March 15, the date President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the agency to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” along with several other government offices. The order cited alleged anti-Trump bias within VOA, with Trump referring to the broadcaster as “The Voice of Radical America.” VOA employees have defended their journalistic integrity, saying they have maintained a commitment to impartial reporting.

Since mid-March, only a limited number of staff have returned to VOA offices. Employees believe this is an attempt by USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake, a prominent Trump ally, to maintain statutory broadcasting minimums. The last article published on VOA’s website dates back to March 15. Earlier this month, Lake announced VOA would begin distributing content from One America News Network (OANN), a far-right outlet known for promoting misinformation about COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

VOA has challenged the administration in court, arguing that the agency’s dismantling violates the First Amendment. However, a federal appeals court last week declined to block the executive order.

The looming terminations could influence ongoing litigation, but morale within the newsroom is low.

“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 the plaintiffs in the case. “I don’t know how we can return to our mandate to report the facts without fear or favor.”

By Sabina Mammadli