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The administration of President Donald Trump initiated sweeping layoffs on Sunday at Voice of America (VOA) and other US-funded media outlets, signaling its intent to dismantle institutions long considered crucial for US global influence.
A day after placing all employees on leave, the administration informed contract staff via email that their jobs would be terminated at the end of March.
According to multiple employees who confirmed the message to AFP, the email instructed contractors to “cease all work immediately” and prohibited them from accessing agency buildings or systems.
Contractors, who form a significant portion of VOA’s workforce, particularly in non-English language services, now face uncertain futures. Many of them are non-US citizens, meaning their visas may be jeopardized with the loss of employment.
While full-time VOA employees were not immediately dismissed, they have been placed on administrative leave and barred from working.
Voice of America, established during World War II, broadcasts in 49 languages, providing news to audiences in countries with limited media freedom.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order targeting VOA’s parent organisation, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of his broader effort to cut federal government expenditures. USAGM employed 3,384 people in the 2023 fiscal year and had requested $950 million in funding for the current year.
With its operations now in limbo, some VOA services have resorted to playing music in place of their usual programming due to a lack of new content.
Other US-backed outlets affected by the cuts include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which was created during the Cold War to broadcast to the former Soviet bloc; Radio Free Asia, which provides independent news coverage to countries like China and North Korea; Radio Farda, a Persian-language broadcaster banned in Iran; and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the Iraq invasion to counter narratives from networks like Al Jazeera.
The White House defended the decision in a statement on Saturday, arguing that “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” Trump has frequently criticised media coverage of him and has questioned the rationale behind funding VOA, given its editorial independence.
The timing of these cuts comes as China and Russia continue to expand their state-funded media operations to counter Western narratives. China, in particular, has been distributing free content to media outlets in developing nations.
China’s state-run Global Times reacted to the layoffs with an editorial celebrating VOA’s downfall, stating that “the monopoly of information held by some traditional Western media is being shattered.”
