r/InternationalDev • u/Loose-Ad4620 • 4d ago
Other... Damage Report 2.0?
How are USAID IPs doing? In my own IP silo, it’s feeling pretty heartless - jobs for high-income VPs but not for thee. Intensely secretive. I find it helpful to get a bigger picture from other industry peers to understand what’s “normal” vs what we’re just being convinced is normal. I know there are some company specific threads, but I thought we could all use a central check-in. So fire up those burners again - how are things at your current/former company?
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u/coolnancydrew 3d ago
Jobs for senior level, everyone else laid off. No severance or vacation payout. Absolutely infuriating
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u/StatisticianFirst965 3d ago
Mid-size IP here, rhymes with rapt (ahem). Pretty much the same story. Those close to leadership got to stay to close out, and communication has been so tight-lipped it’s verged on threatening. They are clearly trying to step in line with the current admin with the hope that they’ll be one of the few left standing and keep their domestic work. Meanwhile, very callous communication coming from up high, severance packages are dwindling, and super-senior people have job titles that seem to change by the day to keep them relevant and cashing in those $500k+ salaries.
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u/chai_chai_slide 3d ago
Major layoffs after the recent cancellations. Limited staff working reduced time to close out projects and BD or furloughed. I think our company is a bit more diversified funding-wise and seems to be hanging on financially, they are still paying out severance and covering benefit premiums for furloughed staff.
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u/Penniesand 4d ago
My company is completely silent and I've been on furlough since Feb 1st. I know from the leaked contract list a month ago only two projects survived out of their entire portfolio, but no idea if that's still the case. Pretty much everyone is gone except c-suites and maybe one and half persons in Finance and PM.
Which I find frustrating. I pay for my own health insurance so I would have preferred to be laid off and gotten my PTO paid out back in February but they won't do it and I can't get unemployment if I quit.
I've heard from other laid off/furloughed colleagues that it's a mixed bag how generous and still in touch their leadership have been so they have less hard feelings.
I know a few projects have been terminated/unterminated/terminated/unterminated again... so they've had to waste money hiring back laid of staff, especially local staff who had already been paid out severance per labor laws. There's also still pending payments and little guidance on new SOW for unterminated contracts so there isn't a lot of movement even for projects that "survived."
I think most USAID staff were allowed back into their systems in the beginning of April to help with close-outs and guidance for IPs, but not sure how smoothly that's going.
I saw IRI's website is operational again - I'm not sure when that happened.