Voice of America leader Kari Lake issued termination notices to the remaining employees of the agency in charge of the VOA on Friday night. File Photo by Greg Nash/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 30 (UPI) — The remaining 532 employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which is the parent agency of the Voice of America, have received termination notices.
Kari Lake sent the pink slips to the respective workers on Friday evening, according to The Washington Post.
“Tonight, the U.S. Agency for Global Media initiated what is known as a reduction in force, or RIF, of a large number of its full-time federal employees,” Lake said in the termination notice.
“We are conducting this RIF at the President’s direction to help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service and save the American people more of their hard-earned money.”
Lake is the Trump administration’s official in charge of overseeing the eventual end of Voice of America.
The VOA originally was created to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II, and all of its staff members were put on administrative leave in March, Politico reported.
The Trump administration then stopped production at most of the VOA’s publishing outlets.
About 600 contractors were let go in May, and hundreds of employees received termination notices in June.
Many of the termination notices temporarily were rescinded due to errors, but they were told the agency would undergo an RIF sometime soon after.
Legal challenges were filed against the initial firings and likely will for Friday’s action, according to Politico.
