Representative image (Picture credit: AP)
More than 500 positions at Voice of America (VOA) and other US government-funded broadcasters are being eliminated, officials confirmed Friday, setting the stage for a wider legal clash over the future of the outlets.Kari Lake, acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, announced the layoffs on social media, saying the move followed President Donald Trump’s directive. “We are conducting this (reduction in force) 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 said in a statement, as reported by CBS News. She added the agency “will likely improve its ability to function” after the cuts.According to Lake, 532 government employees are being let go, leaving about 100 staff members at VOA, The New York Times noted. The layoffs came a day after US district judge Royce Lamberth blocked efforts to remove VOA director Michael Abramowitz, ruling it would be “plainly contrary to law.” Lamberth ordered Lake to sit for a deposition by September 15, giving the administration “one final opportunity, short of a contempt trial” to show compliance with his orders, AP reported. VOA employees, who have challenged the restructuring in court, called the cuts “abhorrent.” In a statement cited by CBS News, they said, “We are looking forward to her deposition to hear whether her plan to dismantle VOA was done with the rigorous review process that Congress requires. So far we have not seen any evidence of that.”VOA, which began during World War II and expanded through the Cold War, once broadcast in 49 languages to 360 million people weekly. But as per the New York Times, it currently airs news in only four languages, with nearly all of its 1,300 journalists either fired or placed on leave. The agency also oversees Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and Radio Martí, which together reach an estimated 427 million people.
