USAID workforce has reduced from 10,000 to less than 300, as the Elon Musk’s Doge Decimates agency

Elon Musk Ministry of Government Efficiency (DOG) has gone to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by taking a team of over 10,000 Up to just under 300, according to an internal email viewed by Wired and several current USAID officials.

This move leaves only 12 people in the agency’s Africa Bureau and 8 people in its Asia Bureau, with a total of about 290. There will be additional foreign workers preserved, two USAID employees say to Wired, but it is not clear how much.

“There are more people in Asia than anywhere else, and our presence has always helped to oppose China’s influence,” says a USAID employee who has been anonymous due to revenge fears and because they were not Authorized to speak publicly about the agency.

Tuesday USAID workers received an email Noting that all staff will be placed on administrative leave from Friday, February 7, with the exception of “certain staff responsible for the mission critical functions”. The notice was published on the agency’s website shortly after. He also states that agency workers abroad will be recalled back in the United States.

USAID and the US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was not an unexpected move. USAID is a special target in the crossing of Elon Musk, with a staecillionaire by calling it “Crime Organization” of X and praise about “his eating through a wooden chipper.”

President Donald Trump was similar to the agency. One of his first actions after taking office last month was to sign an enforcement order for freezing foreign assistance, most of them are applied by USAID. The change has already stimulated working with traffic traffic, including projects that help people escape from labor compounds where they are enslaved and forced to perform digital fraud, Wired reported On Wednesday.

Although the administration subsequently explained that the “life -saving” work would be allowed to continue on an emergency program, the agency’s chaotic ingestion made this impossible in practice. Cable reported On Monday, the vital work on HIV/AIDS was disturbed, with workers on site in countries such as Haiti is not able to access antiretroviral drugs – even a large part of this work is technically provided withdrawal.

Meanwhile, some current employees abroad have not yet been informed of the agency’s recent changes. “The only official communication I received was from the local department of the State Department, asking if or when we were moving to be able to renovate our houses,” says a USAID worker abroad.