USAID Slashes 2,000 Jobs and Places Most Staff on Leave in Unprecedented Shakeup

"Pallets of food, water, and supplies staged for delivery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Jan. 17, 2010)." Photo by USAID / USAID_IMAGES, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: Flickr.

Approximately 2,000 employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are set to be laid off Sunday, while the majority of the remaining staff will be placed on administrative leave overnight, according to an internal email sent to workers.

The email, sent at 2:42 p.m. ET, informed employees that nearly all direct-hire personnel—except those in mission-critical roles, core leadership positions, or specially designated programs—will be put on leave effective 11:59 p.m. ET Sunday.

The layoffs, described as a “Reduction-in-Force,” will impact around 2,000 USAID personnel based in the U.S. Those affected will receive notifications by Sunday, while essential employees will be informed by 5 p.m. ET.

Union Calls Out ‘Reckless’ Decision

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which represents USAID employees, sharply condemned the move.

“This hurried and callous decision leaves our dedicated public servants in limbo,” AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi stated Sunday.

“Time and again, these reckless choices and dehumanizing rhetoric have caused untold harm to both the personal and professional lives of our members,” he added.

A Federal Agency in Free Fall

This is just the latest blow to USAID, an agency crucial to humanitarian efforts worldwide.

The mass layoffs come after a federal judge lifted a temporary restraining order Friday, clearing the way for the administration to continue its aggressive purge of the agency.

Among the hardest hit? Employees in USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the very team responsible for rapid disaster response efforts across the globe.

As the agency reels from this dramatic shakeup, the future of U.S. humanitarian aid remains uncertain.