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Elon Musk’s team, which is working to cut government costs, is finalising plans to completely shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). They have ordered the firing of thousands of local workers and American staff who work for the agency overseas, according to a Reuters report.
On Friday, Congress was told that nearly all USAID employees will be fired by September, all overseas offices will be closed, and some functions will be moved into the State Department.
This latest decision by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will essentially eliminate the remaining agency workforce.
“This is definitely the final closing out,” said one former senior USAID official.
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President Donald Trump and Musk, whom Trump picked to oversee government cost-cutting, began shutting down USAID in February and merging some operations into the State Department to align with Trump’s “America First” policies. The State Department hasn’t yet responded to requests for comment.
According to the sources, who spoke anonymously, USAID’s human resources department told regional offices during a conference call that layoff notices would be sent to all 10,000+ locally hired foreign staff members, effective in August.
The first former official said this call happened Monday and warned that firing local staff might violate labor laws in the countries where these workers are employed.
Notices will also be sent to U.S. diplomats and civil servants working abroad, for what has been America’s main foreign aid provider for over 60 years.
Trump has claimed, without providing evidence, that the agency was corrupt and run by “radical left lunatics,” while Musk falsely called it a “criminal” organization.
Thousands of USAID staff were already placed on leave (receiving layoff notices on Friday), hundreds of contractors were fired, and more than 5,000 programs were ended, disrupting global aid efforts that millions of people depend on.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, USAID operates in more than 60 countries, with most funds going to humanitarian aid and health programs.
Top recipients included Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
A summary of the conference call shared by one regional office and reviewed by Reuters confirmed that all locally hired foreign staff and American personnel assigned to USAID abroad will be terminated.
