Mar 11, 2025 - Politics

USAID cuts lead to more furloughs in the Triangle

Zachery Eanes

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 07: A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) abruptly shutdown the U.S. aid agency earlier this week le — A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Two of the Triangle's largest nonprofit research institutes have furloughed hundreds of staff members after the Trump Administration's cuts affected their contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Why it matters: Both FHI 360 and RTI International, two nonprofits with ties to the area's universities, are among the largest recipients of USAID funding for nongovernmental organizations, according to Congressional Research.

The latest: The funding cuts for USAID have forced both to furlough hundreds of employees indefinitely.

FHI 360 said this week that 45% of the organization's staff is now furloughed, including 370 people based in North Carolina.
RTI International said earlier this month that it had furloughed 376 employees, including 141 in North Carolina, the Triangle Business Journal reported.

Zoom in: FHI 360, a key contractor for USAID's PEPFAR program, which funds HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in Africa, received a larger portion of its revenue from USAID than RTI International.

In 2024, around 67% of FHI's funding came from USAID, according to its latest annual report.

State of play: This week a federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration overstepped its constitutional authority in cutting almost all spending at USAID, since Congress already appropriated the money, The Associated Press reported.

The judge ruled that the government need to pay organizations for work performed up until mid-February.
But the order stopped short of reviving the contracts and restarting the work being done under them.

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USAID cuts lead to more furloughs in the Triangle

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