Voice of America (VOA) and the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) have issued layoff notices to 639 employees, effectively sidelining the US government broadcaster that has delivered international news since World War 2.
Among those affected were journalists from VOA's Persian-language service, some of whom had only recently been recalled from administrative leave to report on developments in Iran following Israeli attacks.
According to the Associated Press, staff who stepped out for a break had their ID badges confiscated and were denied reentry.
Kari Lake, a senior adviser to former US President Donald Trump who now oversees the agency, said some 1,400 people — around 85 percent of the workforce — have been laid off since March.
She described the move as part of a "long overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy."
"For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to bankroll an agency plagued by dysfunction, bias, and waste," Lake said in a statement.
"That ends now."
Trump closes a chapter on US state media
VOA began during World War II broadcasting messages about "American democracy" to audiences in Nazi Germany.
It later expanded to deliver news in dozens of languages.
The layoffs come amid a broader campaign by Trump and his allies to defund public media, including efforts to cut off funding for NPR and PBS — a proposal still under review in Congress.
Since March 15, most VOA staff had been placed on administrative leave, with broadcasts and digital output largely suspended.
Among those receiving termination notices Friday were three journalists currently engaged in legal action against the administration's decision to dismantle the network.
Several former employees expressed disappointment over the decision, calling it the end of 83 years of “independent journalism” that championed “democratic values and press freedom around the world.”
Steve Herman, VOA's chief national correspondent who is set to retire, described the layoffs as "an historic act of self-sabotage," warning that the US was silencing one of its most effective soft-power tools.
While some dismissed employees are calling on Congress to intervene, Herman voiced doubt that the network could be saved — even under a more sympathetic administration.
"Every day the network remains off the air is a day audiences form new habits," he said.
"By the time any future government takes over, I fear Voice of America will have been forgotten."
Other USAGM outlets hit by budget-driven closures
The layoffs extend beyond VOA.
Other entities under USAGM have also seen sweeping cuts under Trump-era funding policies aimed at phasing out much of the agency’s operations.
MBN which has Alhurra channel, the only US-funded Arabic-language TV network targeting audiences in the Middle East, carried out mass layoffs on April 12.
According to employees, while most of the editorial staff were dismissed, administrative personnel were retained — raising concerns over possible mismanagement.
One former staffer asked: "What’s the point of keeping administrators at a media outlet if almost all the journalists have been let go?"
