In addition to some 4,200 staff who are being placed on leave, at least 1,600 employees are being fired.
The move comes weeks after President Donald Trump’s initial attempt to eliminate thousands of USAID employees was held up by a legal challenge.
A federal judge temporarily halted the administration’s plan to gut America’s foreign aid agency, but ruled on Friday that the pause would not be permanent. Founded in 1961, USAID employed around 10,000 staff until the recent cost-cutting began.
The notice to USAID employees on Sunday from the Office of the Administrator said that “designated personnel” responsible for critical functions or in leadership would be exempt from administrative leave.
It’s not clear how many employees will be kept on, but USAID had previously deemed 611 personnel to be essential.
The email said USAID intended to fund voluntary return travel for overseas staff.
Around 4,200 employees will be placed on leave, according to the BBC’s US news partner CBS.
The USAID website said there would be a “reduction-in-force” of an additional 1,600 personnel in the US.
That would amount to at least 5,800 USAID employees on administrative leave or laid off – or well over half the agency’s workforce.
The development follows a ruling on Friday by Judge Carl Nichols in Washington DC that the Trump administration could press ahead with its plans to get rid of USAID employees.
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