Trump's red pencil

Wave of layoffs at development aid agency USAID

A USAID employee had to pack his personal belongings like his colleagues.(Bild: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

US President Donald Trump and his whisperer Elon Musk are continuing to cut staff: the US development aid agency USAID has announced the dismissal or furlough of a large number of its employees. 

As the agency announced on Sunday, around 1600 employees in the USA will be laid off in order to "reduce staff". With a few exceptions, all other employees worldwide will be furloughed. The extensive dissolution of the agency ordered by President Trump has thus taken a major step forward.

Trump and his advisor Musk want to drastically cut the budgets and staff of the US federal agencies - USAID is a particular focus of their cutbacks. Trump said that the agency had been run by "a bunch of radical crazies" in the past. Multi-billionaire Musk called USAID "a nest of vipers of radical left-wing Marxists who hate America" and a "criminal organization".

Some exceptions approved
Trump originally wanted to furlough almost all USAID staff at the beginning of February. A US federal judge initially suspended the furloughs, but then confirmed them on Friday.

USAID previously had an annual budget of 42.8 billion dollars (around 41.9 billion euros). According to the latest available data on the distribution of aid granted, Ukraine, Ethiopia and Jordan were the largest recipients in 2023. Immediately after his inauguration, Trump issued a decree largely freezing US foreign aid for 90 days. The government later approved some exceptions for humanitarian aid.