Unpause That didn’t take long. After a court order Friday paved the way for thousands of USAID staffers to be placed on administrative leave (more on that below), employees received a notice Sunday alerting them that not only will most USAID direct hires worldwide be placed on leave, but that 1,600 personnel in the U.S. will be fired <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbOpU-jtGmM6HkyrOSPSBcGVO7GGl8I4qFWggd3VKntba6THtjOofqw6Yd1tq27n6WxaTZcqZcQMxBSNNNgwscMYDFp5otdXRs9YKU6p8s9VJzr70bXMQL6uufY-Na04nj6S7TWvVr-rW0FKn7sGvBciHVHyYpfr91My1Cj58eTh-SFb3d61FatLJeSm_2pPqEUsXoGOm3qdNHCMolYEC9-LtNlW0VS0mqO4_TD7UHrOWg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0AP_p4YAJ6vhktE_CjDa_-9vjoUwVEeYZNL9b1QMJ7PtnxMYDKe2rUZoiTb6OC7vvKE=> — or, in government speak, *subject to a “reduction-in-force.”*
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, *all USAID direct hire personnel*, with the exception of designation personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, *will be placed on administrative leave globally*,” the notice stated. It isn’t clear which staff at USAID will be affected by the 1,600 firings, my colleague Elissa Miolene reports. *“Is this civil service? Foreign service? All?”* asks one USAID staffer. “No clarity.” “There’s more order and yet they still are producing chaos,” the staffer says. “We keep getting these big, scary emails on weekends. There’s *no day free of the scare tactics and mental torture.”* Over the weekend, staff members started to receive letters indicating their employment was terminated <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbMJpzFzneHJnMsamEK8TfqGir2lhH_3JJaislMDcQ4K2h1VEtJCJoptGbmW0tPrS85zoSGVwbyzebSmkUH2LixhAmt_Un4UYLGvqj7ZG0FIVX6GNpGslWpo_WDs8OIi1ct6S-0RrZF1DrmSPSXMD3Xf0YlkHbPCAkOE9pLUBlXy9XHUd_Ft4PnSEB-wz3QIzUz57uhOKgv4Ic34szY70thn/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0AP_p4YAJ6vhktE_CjDa_-9vjoUwVEeYZNL9b1QMJ7PtnxMYDKe2rUZoiTb6OC7vvKE=>. My colleague Sara Jerving obtained copies of termination notices — including to someone stationed abroad — in which Peter Marocco, USAID’s acting deputy administrator, said they were *“being released” from their “competitive level”* because that “competitive area is being eliminated.” USAID employees also received more details over the weekend about the State Department <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0Cu3ppBk47Shu8OM5ckHaUoOVX8Dnh67lVnDSOtL6-WDN6f156I2H1HTo5Rjf5Zd06E=> team tasked with recalling staff members abroad. One USAID employee abroad tells Sara that while this new coordination team may be able to handle simple logistics, *it doesn’t have a clear mandate for families with complicated situations.* Sara was informed of one case where USAID’s finance team called a staff member's child’s school abroad to inquire about refunding the tuition already paid — for a child with special needs. “It’s inhumane and humiliating,” the USAID employee abroad tells Sara. *Read:* USAID to cut 1,600 staff, place nearly all direct hires on leave <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbOpU-jtGmM6HkyrOSPSBcGVO7GGl8I4qFWggd3VKntba6THtjOofqw6Yd1tq27n6WxaTZcqZcQMxBSNNNgwscMYDFp5otdXRs9YKU6p8s9VJzr70bXMQL6uufY-Na04nj6S7TWvVr-rW0FKn7sGvBciHVHyYpfr91My1Cj58eTh-SFb3d61FatLJeSm_2pPqEUsXoGOm3qdNHCMolYEC9-Lnnv8KOgITkhrFyyk3HQL4w==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0AP_p4YAJ6vhktE_CjDa_-9vjoUwVEeYZNL9b1QMJ7PtnxMYDKe2rUZoiTb6OC7vvKE=> *Read more:* USAID staff start receiving termination letters <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbMJpzFzneHJnMsamEK8TfqGir2lhH_3JJaislMDcQ4K2h1VEtJCJoptGbmW0tPrS85zoSGVwbyzebSmkUH2LixhAmt_Un4UYLGvqj7ZG0FIVX6GNpGslWpo_WDs8OIi1ct6S-0RrZF1DrmSPSXMD3Xf0YlkHbPCAkOE9pLUBlXy9XHUd_Ft4PnSEB-wz3QIzUyDhSqXtSABW68yaaxlqmH-/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0AP_p4YAJ6vhktE_CjDa_-9vjoUwVEeYZNL9b1QMJ7PtnxMYDKe2rUZoiTb6OC7vvKE=>
