The administration of President Donald Trump has taken steps to lay off approximately 500 employees of Voice of America (VOA), the U.S. government-funded broadcaster, in a renewed effort to partially shut down the agency, which the White House has labeled as “radical.”
Kari Lake, the acting CEO of VOA’s parent agency, stated that the decision would “help reduce federal bureaucracy, improve agency services, and save more taxpayer dollars earned through hard work by the American people.”
However, a union representing VOA employees has called the move illegal, according to a statement given to The New York Times.
Founded during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, Voice of America is now a global broadcaster producing content in nearly 50 languages. It is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which stated in a court filing that a total of 532 positions would be eliminated, most from VOA. Following the layoffs, the agency is expected to retain only 108 employees.
In June, Lake had announced plans to lay off 639 employees, but the notices were temporarily canceled due to documentation errors. Some employees subsequently filed lawsuits to block the terminations.
The latest decision was made public Friday evening, a day after a judge ruled that the Trump administration had not followed proper legal procedures in attempting to dismiss the then-VOA director, Michael Abramowitz. The judge also ordered Lake to testify officially before the employees’ attorneys.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of employees alleging that the administration deliberately sought to dismantle VOA.
“We consider Lake’s continued attacks on our agency reprehensible,” they told CBS News.
“We look forward to her testimony to determine whether her plan to dismantle VOA has followed the rigorous review process required by Congress. So far, we have seen no evidence of this, and as such, we will continue to fight for what we believe are our legal rights,” they added.
Meanwhile, most VOA journalists have been on administrative leave since March, except for some Persian-language reporters called back due to the Israel-Iran conflict this summer.
The layoffs do not affect journalists at the Cuba Broadcasting Office, which broadcasts in Spanish from Miami.
Critics of the Trump administration view this action as a direct attack on press freedom and a blow to the U.S.’s ability to exercise influence through international soft power. The White House has previously labeled VOA as “anti-Trump” and “radical.”
