Employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be placed on leave from Friday night, the agency said.
All “direct-hire personnel” working anywhere in the world for the agency will be put on “administrative leave,” with the exception of employees in critical positions, a statement on USAID’s website said.
Those affected by the exemptions will be informed one day in advance, the agency, which is under the acting leadership of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said.
President Donald Trump already froze the agency’s funds in January pending an internal review, impacting a vast array of initiatives around the globe.
USAID is one of the largest aid agencies in the world and is responsible for doling out much of the US government’s humanitarian assistance to developing countries and countries in crisis.
Trump has repeatedly claimed it is run by “radical lunatics” seeking to hinder his America First foreign policy agenda.
The White House recently listed USAID projects that Trump considers particularly galling – including an initiative for electric cars in Vietnam and cultural programmes supporting transgender communities in South America.
Around 10,000 people work for the agency, two-thirds of them outside the US.
The statement said USAID staff posted abroad will have their return to the US arranged and paid for within 30 days.
The brief statement to employees ends: “Thank you for your service.”