Termination notices for remaining Voice of America employees expected this week: Report

WASHINGTON

Remaining employees at Voice of America (VOA) are expected to receive termination notices this week, effectively ending operations at the international broadcaster, which has provided news and information to global audiences for over 80 years, according to a report Wednesday.

Politico, citing four VOA employees familiar with internal discussions, reported that reduction-in-force notices are likely to go out to the agency’s roughly 800 staffers following the dismissal of nearly 600 contractors earlier this month.

A senior VOA employee told Politico that based on his team’s conversations with staffers at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA’s parent company, notices will likely affect all staff, effectively shutting down the international broadcasting network.

The move follows a March 15 executive order signed by President Donald Trump directing USAGM to eliminate VOA “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” Trump previously accused the network of being biased, calling it “The Voice of Radical America.”

USAGM, the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) did not immediately comment on the report.

VOA journalists have challenged the shutdown in court, but a federal appeals court last week declined to block the administration’s efforts.