By Rhododendrites-Wikipedia
Voice of America (VOA) and the U.S. agency that oversees it have sent layoff notices to 639 employees, marking a dramatic dismantling of the global news outlet that has operated since World War II. The notices, issued on Friday, are part of a broader effort that has seen roughly 1,400 employees—amounting to 85 percent of the combined workforce at VOA and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)—terminated since March.
Among those affected are staff from VOA’s Persian-language service, who had only recently been recalled from administrative leave to resume broadcasts into Iran following Israeli strikes. According to one dismissed employee, three Persian service journalists stepped out for a cigarette break on Friday and returned to find their badges confiscated and themselves locked out of the building.
Kari Lake, senior adviser to President Donald Trump and to the agency, defended the layoffs as part of a “long overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy.” In a news release, Lake stated, “For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to bankroll an agency that’s been riddled with dysfunction, bias and waste. That ends now.”
VOA, originally launched to promote American democratic values to residents of Nazi Germany, evolved into a multi-language global news provider—especially in countries lacking a free press. However, it has increasingly found itself at odds with Trump administration officials who accuse mainstream media of harboring anti-conservative bias. The administration has also proposed ending federal funding for other public broadcasters, including PBS and NPR, a measure currently under congressional review.
Since March 15, most VOA employees have been on administrative leave, silencing much of the organization’s output on air and online. On Friday, three VOA journalists—Jessica Jerreat, Kate Neeper, and Patsy Widakuswara—who are plaintiffs in an ongoing legal challenge to the restructuring, were among those issued termination notices. In a joint statement, the plaintiffs said, “It spells the death of 83 years of independent journalism that upholds US ideals of democracy and freedom around the world.”
One Persian-language service staffer, speaking anonymously due to the pending lawsuit, recounted being afraid to leave the office on Friday—despite being told that programming had ceased—after seeing colleagues denied reentry. That person received a layoff notice shortly thereafter.
Steve Herman, VOA’s chief national correspondent who was set to retire for a new role at the University of Mississippi, described the layoffs as “an historic act of self-sabotage,” and said they amounted to “the US government completing the silencing of its most effective soft-power weapon.”
The future of VOA’s programming remains unclear. Conservative outlet One America News Network has offered to make its signal available as a possible replacement. However, many doubt VOA can be revived even if political power shifts.
Despite the legal push and calls for congressional support, Herman expressed deep pessimism: “I believe that the destruction is permanent,” he said, noting that no funding is currently allocated for VOA in the next fiscal year. Even if a new administration were to show sympathy, he warned, “I fear that VOA will have become forgotten.”
Every day the agency remains off the air, he added, is another day that audiences around the world turn to alternative news sources.
