Trump adminration plans to fire over 500 workers from Voice of America amid court battle | World News

US President Donald Trump led adminration has decided to terminate about 500 employees working in the federally funded media organisation Voice of America (VOA) amid a legal suit filed in a federal court against the layoffs. It is the latest attempt the federal government to strip back the outlet, which the White House has accused of being “radical”.
The job cuts were announced Kari Lake, acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, a day after a federal judge blocked her from removing Michael Abramowitz as VOA director. The New York Times reported that a union which represented employees called the move illegal.
Lake, while announcing the decision of 500 jobs cuts, said the decision would “help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money,” BBC reported. VOA, which was set up the United States during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda, has now become a major global broadcaster.

ANNOUNCEMENT—U.S. Agency for Global Media Eliminates 532 Government PositionsWashington, D.C. – 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. We are conducting this RIF at… pic.twitter.com/LWeO9w0RNQ
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 30, 2025
VOA is looked after Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which in a court filing, detailed that 532 employees are being terminated with most of them from Voice of America which would be left with 108 staff.
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Lake had announced in June that about 639 employees would be terminated, however, the notice was later revoked citing paperwork error. It was then that some employees had filed cases against their termination.
Earlier, a US drict judge Royce Lamberth ruled in a separate case that the Trump adminration had failed to show how it was complying with his orders to restore the operations of VOA and blocked the attempts to remove VOA’s director, Michael Abramowitz. Judge Lamberth ordered CEO Lake to sit for a deposition where she would be questioned lawyers.
Lake, in a social media post wrote, “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.”