Six hundred and thirty-nine employees have received layoff notices, according to the parent company of Voice of America on June 20. Since March, the total number of employees in this institution has decreased by 85%, which actually marks the end of this broadcasting agency that was established to counter Nazi propaganda.
Carrie Lake, senior advisor of the U.S. International Media Agency, said in a report on June 20 that the layoffs mean a cumulative total of 1,400 positions have been cut. This is part of President Trump's agenda to reduce the personnel of this agency to the legal minimum level.
In a statement, Lake said: "Layoff notices have been sent to 639 employees from the U.S. International Media Agency and Voice of America, which is part of an overdue move to abolish this bloated and irresponsible bureaucratic institution."
She said that the agency is "filled with malfunctioning, bias, and waste."
The report points out that this move may mark the end of Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi Germany's propaganda.
Some Republicans have accused Voice of America and other government-funded media of bias against conservatives and called for their closure as part of a broader effort to reduce the size of the U.S. government.
Another radio station under the U.S. International Media Agency, Radio Free Asia, has already reduced to a skeleton staff. In an email to employees on June 20, the station said it would further cut jobs in human resources, management, journalist safety, and research, training, and evaluation teams. (Translated by Xu Yanhong)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7518273417016050191/
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