WASHINGTON — Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team is finalizing the dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development, ordering the firing of thousands of local workers and American diplomats and civil servants assigned to the agency overseas, two former top USAID officials and a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.
On Friday, Congress was informed that nearly all of USAID’s own employees would be laid off by September, all of its overseas offices would be closed, and some functions would be absorbed into the State Department.
The latest move by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will effectively eliminate the agency’s remaining workforce.
“This is definitely the final closing out,” said one of the former senior USAID officials.
In February, President Donald Trump and Musk, his hand-picked adviser in charge of government cost-cutting, began the process of closing USAID and merging its operations into the State Department to ensure they aligned with Trump’s “America First” policies. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to former officials and a source familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, USAID’s human resources office informed regional bureaus in a conference call that layoff notices would be sent to all of the more than 10,000 locally hired foreign nationals beginning in August.
The first former official stated that the call occurred on Monday, and that the local staff terminations may violate labor laws in the countries where the fired workers are employed.
Notices will also be sent to US diplomats and civil servants stationed abroad for what has been the country’s leading foreign aid provider for more than 60 years, according to former officials and a source.
Trump claimed without evidence that the agency was riddled with fraud and led by “radical left lunatics,” while Musk falsely accused it of being a “criminal” organization.
Thousands of USAID employees were placed on administrative leave; they received layoff notices on Friday; hundreds of contractors were fired; and more than 5,000 programs were canceled, disrupting global humanitarian aid efforts on which millions rely.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, USAID has missions in over 60 countries, with the majority of its funding going toward humanitarian aid and health programs.
Top recipients included war-torn Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as US ally Jordan, Israel’s-occupied West Bank, and the combat-shattered Gaza Strip.
A summary of the conference call circulated by one regional bureau and reviewed by Reuters confirmed the termination of all locally hired foreign nationals, as well as American diplomats and civil servants on assignment with USAID abroad.
It stated that over 600 US diplomats are on secondment to USAID overseas, but did not provide a figure for the number of US civil service members. Most will be terminated in July, when the intention is to close “all programmatic work.”
“Every position eliminated; 100 percent of the agency is rif’d (Reduction in Force) or will be,” the summary said, and advised personnel that no one would be retained and to “focus on things to make sure you’re getting the right benefits.”
