"In an effort to conserve limited resources on hand and preserve the possibility of restarting operations should consistent funding become available, RFA is taking further steps to responsibly shrink its already reduced footprint, she said on Wednesday. Fang added that RFA would begin closing its overseas bureaus and would formally lay off and pay severance to furloughed staff. She said many staff members have been on unpaid leave since March, when the US Agency for Global Media [USAGM] unlawfully terminated RFA's Congressionally appropriated grant."
"On March 14, Trump signed an executive order effectively eliminating USAGM, an independent US government agency created in the mid-1990s to broadcast news and information to regions with poor press freedom records. Alongside RFA, USAGM also hosts sister publications Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE) and Voice of America (VOA). Following March's executive order, RFA was forced to put three-quarters of its US-based employees on unpaid leave and terminate most of its overseas contractors."
Radio Free Asia will suspend all remaining news content production and shut down operations on Friday because of a dire financial situation caused by funding cuts under the Trump administration and the ongoing US government shutdown. The outlet will close overseas bureaus, lay off furloughed staff, and pay severance to conserve resources and preserve the possibility of restarting operations if funding returns. Many staff have been on unpaid leave since March after the US Agency for Global Media terminated RFA's Congressionally appropriated grant. Earlier actions included putting three-quarters of US staff on unpaid leave, terminating most overseas contractors, and ending several language services such as Tibetan, Burmese, and Uighur. Sister outlets have also experienced mass layoffs.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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