US Media Faces Major Job Cuts and Legal Battles

The US Agency for Global Media is cutting over 500 jobs. This move comes after a federal judge stopped the agency's boss from firing the Voice of America (VOA) director. The judge also said the agency wasn't following his orders to restore VOA's operations. He gave the agency one last chance to show they were following the rules. The acting CEO, Kari Lake, announced the job cuts on social media. She said the agency would keep doing its job after the cuts. She also said she plans to make more changes in the coming months. But some employees are not happy. They said the cuts are unfair and they will keep fighting in court. In June, more than 600 employees got layoff notices. The VOA director and almost all VOA staff were put on leave. The director was told he would be fired at the end of August. The agency also runs other networks like Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia. These networks reach about 427 million people worldwide. The VOA director warned earlier that cutting the VOA would hurt US national security. He said other countries like China and Russia would take advantage. He also said the VOA should tell the truth about America in languages people understand. This week, the Trump administration also took away union protections for some federal employees, including those at the VOA. The largest union of public employees said they would fight this in court. Earlier this year, foreign staff at US-backed media outlets worried about their safety. They said their lives could be at risk if their governments found out they worked for these outlets.