Axed USAID Employees Given ‘15-Minute Time Slots’ To Clear Their Desks

Last Updated:February 26, 2025, 17:28 IST

Employees were given strict directives for removing their belongings from the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington where the agency is headquartered.

A recently fired US Agency for Development (USAID) staff member reacts while leaving work, during a sendoff by former USAID staffers and supporters outside USAID offices in Washington, DC, US. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

Axed US Agency for Development (USAID) workers will be escorted to their desks and will be given “15 minutes" to collect personal belongings from the Washington headquarters later this week.

“Staff will be given approximately 15 minutes to complete this retrieval and must be finished removing items within their time slot only. Staff with a significant amount of personal belongings to retrieve must be cognizant of time; however, flexibility may be granted in select circumstances with the approval of the Office of Security," the agency said in a notice.

Former employees have been instructed to collect their belongings during designated slots on Thursday or Friday or assign a representative to do so. The agency has warned that unclaimed items will be moved to a government warehouse, where there is a risk of damage or loss.

“All staff and their property will undergo magnetometer and x-ray machine screening upon entry. Staff will then be escorted to their workspace, where they will be permitted to collect their personal items," the notice said.

Most employees at USAID will be placed on leave or fired by midnight on Sunday, the aid agency said, as President Donald Trump’s administration plows ahead in slashing government spending.

Around 1,600 workers based in the United States will be laid off in a “reduction-in-force" effort, according to a notice on the US Agency for Development’s website.

All other staff directly hired by USAID will be placed on administrative leave globally, except those responsible for “mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs."

The move is a step forward in Trump’s effort to dismantle USAID, which has more than 10,000 employees and operates an array of humanitarian and development programs around the world.

The agency announced earlier this month that all staff would be placed on administrative leave — a directive that faced legal challenges.

But on Friday, a federal judge lifted an order pausing the Trump administration’s implementation of plans to gut USAID.

Trump and his allies — including billionaire donor Elon Musk — allege USAID is rife with “fraud," but have provided little proof of the accusations.

Its budget of more than $40 billion is mandated by Congress, with its programs ranging from governance to life-saving food assistance.

The decades-old agency has, over the years, faced criticism in the aid sector for its overhead costs and questions on whether some of its programs achieve their objectives.

USAID has, however, also been a key US tool of global “soft power" — the ability of a country to persuade others through its attractiveness.

(with inputs from AFP)

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

News world Axed USAID Employees Given ‘15-Minute Time Slots’ To Clear Their Desks