Voice of America to Cut 500 Employees, Kari Lake Announces

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), on Aug. 30, announced a plan to cut 532 Voice of America employees.

“Tonight, the U.S. Agency for Global Media initiated what is known as a reduction in force, or RIF, of a large number of its full-time federal employees,” Kari Lake, USAGM’s acting CEO, said in a statement she posted on X.

Lake said President Donald Trump had directed the reduction in force at Voice of America, a U.S. government-sponsored international news broadcaster first formed in 1942. Lake, a former television news anchor, said the move to cut the staff at Voice of America is part of an effort “to help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money.”

USAGM, which oversees Voice of America’s operations, has been overhauling the state-backed news broadcast organization for months, shrinking the size of its workforce.

Voice of America’s last report in its English-language edition was published on March 15. The same day, Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz announced that more than 1,300 journalists, producers, and assistants at the organization had been placed on administrative leave. Lake, at the time, said Voice of America was “not salvageable.”

Efforts to completely shut down Voice of America have faced multiple legal challenges.

In April, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order allowing Voice of America employees to return to work. In a 2–1 decision on May 3, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia stayed the lower court’s decision.

Amid the legal challenges, USAGM has looked for ways to continue reshaping its content. On May 6, Lake announced a deal for One America News Network to broadcast its video and news content through Voice of America and other broadcast entities overseen by USAGM.

Along with Voice of America, USAGM oversees operations for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and administers grants for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

Abramowitz has also challenged his removal as director of Voice of America. This week, Lamberth issued a one-page decision ruling that Abramowitz could retain his directorship over the news organization.

As she announced the new staff cuts at Voice of America on Saturday, Lake said USAGM will be better able “to function and provide the truth to people across the world who live under murderous Communist governments and other tyrannical regimes.”

“I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency and make sure America’s voice is heard abroad where it matters most,” she added.