Voice of America Faces Imminent Shutdown, Sparks Possible Layoffs

2025-05-29 06:03:14

(MENAFN) The international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA), a source of global news and information for more than eight decades, is on the brink of ceasing operations as remaining employees are expected to receive layoff notifications this week, a report revealed Wednesday.

According to media reports, which spoke to four VOA insiders familiar with internal discussions, the agency plans to send reduction-in-force notices to its approximately 800 remaining staff members, following the recent dismissal of nearly 600 contractors earlier this month.

A senior VOA official informed media that conversations with personnel at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)—the parent organization overseeing VOA—indicate that these notices will likely cover all remaining employees, effectively shutting down the broadcaster’s international news service.

This action comes after a March 15 executive order issued by President Donald Trump, instructing USAGM to dismantle VOA “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

Trump has previously accused the network of bias, labeling it “The Voice of Radical America.”
Neither USAGM, the White House, nor the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have responded to requests for comment regarding this development.

Despite VOA journalists filing legal challenges against the shutdown, a federal appeals court last week refused to halt the administration’s plan to dissolve the broadcaster.

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