The Trump administration has begun firing workers at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded media outlets, leaving many employees without work and raising concerns about the future of American global broadcasting.
The layoffs started on Sunday when contract workers, who make up a large part of VOA’s staff, were informed via email that their employment would end by March. They were told to stop working immediately and were denied access to office buildings and online systems.
The move has hit contractors the hardest, especially those from foreign countries who rely on their jobs for U.S. visas. Full-time employees, who have more legal protection, were not fired but placed on leave and told to stop working.
VOA was established during World War II and has been a major platform for providing news in countries with limited press freedom. It broadcasts in 49 languages and has played a vital role in countering propaganda from authoritarian regimes. Other affected outlets include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the Iraq War.
Trump’s decision to slash jobs came after he signed an executive order targeting the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees these outlets. The agency, with over 3,000 employees, had requested nearly $1 billion in funding for the current fiscal year.
The White House defended the cuts, claiming it was ending taxpayer support for what it called biased media. Trump has often criticized VOA, arguing that it operates too independently and does not align with American interests.
With VOA and its sister networks now crippled, countries like China and Russia, which heavily invest in state-run media, are expected to expand their influence. Chinese state media celebrated the decision, saying that the fall of VOA shows that Western control over global news is coming to an end.
The future of these media outlets remains uncertain, as staff struggle with job loss and international audiences face fewer reliable news sources from the U.S.