Scoop: USAID furloughs hundreds of contractors from humanitarian bureau

USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, or BHA, has furloughed hundreds of its institutional support contractors — slicing away 500 staff members, or nearly 40% of BHA’s team. That’s according to five sources close to the matter, including two former USAID officials. “They’ve effectively just taken away the U.S.’ ability to respond to a humanitarian emergency,” one of those former officials told Devex. “Even if they waive the funding [freeze], there are no people left to use the funding.” Institutional support contractors represent huge portions of the USAID workforce, with their proportions shifting depending on the particular team. While they function like regular staff, these contractors are employed by separate companies partnering with USAID, such as Credence Management Solutions. Yesterday, hundreds of contractors at USAID’s global health bureau were furloughed — and today, the target became BHA. “Due to the Stop Work Order, you are not permitted to perform any BHASC [Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance Support Contract] work,” stated an email sent by Credence Management Solutions, a company that partners with USAID, at 11 a.m. this morning. “If you are onsite … please head home.” Those affected include staff focused on risk mitigation, information management, and operations across the “corporate backbone,” another former USAID official told Devex. In the Credence email, there was no mention of payment, benefits, or other details — just that the company would be “in touch later today with additional guidance.” Yesterday, nearly 60 senior executive staff at USAID were placed on administrative leave — and as USAID’s partner organizations are scrambling to confront their stop-work orders, the pool of people they can ask for support is dwindling. “That’s the entire career leadership at USAID,” said the former agency official, referring to the senior executives placed on administrative leave Monday. “[The new administration] had a plan to come in and take USAID down, and then try to rebuild it in whatever fashion they want it to be.”