Exclusive: Musk team issued inaccurate USAID firing notices, must send correct versions, say sources

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Termination notices sent by billionaire Elon Musk's cost-cutting team to U.S. Agency for International Development staff were so rife with errors that corrected versions are being issued to avoid affecting pensions and pay, according to five sources familiar with the issue.

The Department of Government Efficiency "did this so quickly that they screwed lots of stuff up," said a U.S. official, who requested anonymity, as did all of those who spoke to Reuters.

The State Department, which is assuming some of USAID's functions under the Trump administration's plan to cut U.S. foreign aid, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

USAID's human resources staff, most of whom have been on paid administrative leave and face termination, have been brought back to the office to send out accurate notices, said the U.S. official and a person familiar with the matter.

"My letter was completely wrong," one USAID worker told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The only thing correct was my name."

It is not the first time that inaccurate termination notices have upended the lives of USAID workers since U.S. President Donald Trump and Musk began in February to dismember America's main conduit of foreign aid.

A first round set April 21 as the final employment day for most personnel and May 30 for those tapped to help shutter the agency. Those dates were reset to July 1 or September 2 in the notices sent to some 3,500 USAID workers last Friday, two sources and workers said.

Other errors included inaccurate start dates, lengths of servic...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]