200 NC workers furloughed as Trump’s USAID cuts imperil 2 major Triangle nonprofits
The Durham-based global research nonprofit FHI 360 is furloughing 36% of its U.S. staff, including more than 200 employees in North Carolina, following federal cuts to its main source of revenue.
The furloughs, which will begin Friday, are due “to the pause of U.S. foreign assistance funding and programs,” the organization’s spokesperson Jennifer Garcia said in a statement.
Founded in 1971 at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, FHI 360 has more than 4,000 employees across over 60 countries. Its recent projects include “engaging men in family life” in Mozambique, “creating clothes, jobs, and community” in Morocco, supporting mental health access in Ukraine, and detecting tuberculosis-resistant drugs in Tajikistan.
According to its latest annual report, the organization generated $869 million in 2023, with 67% of that money coming from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. The next largest revenue source for FHI 360, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, accounted for only 8%.
But FHI 360’s main backer is in peril. USAID is a target of the new Trump administration, which seeks to gut the agency. The USAID website displays a message that informs that all personnel will be put on administrative leave at the end of Friday, except for those in charge of “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
In a statement Monday, the White House accused USAID of supporting “pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats,” that were “ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious.” The statement then referenced specific agency projects related to sexual orientation and gender identity. On Thursday, multiple news outlets reported the Trump administration plans to keep fewer than 300 USAID staff, among the more than 10,000 worldwide.
FHI 360 is headquartered at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham.
“We are going through this process as thoughtfully as possible, with the deepest respect for affected individuals,” Garcia said.
RTI International and USAID
The Triangle is home to another prominent nonprofit research firm with a global scope funded, in part, by USAID. Started in the late 1950s, RTI International was an original anchor tenant in Research Triangle Park. In 2023, it reported generating $1.2 billion through 3,832 projects worldwide.
In January 2023, the organization told The News & Observer it had 2,420 employees report to its RTP offices, including teleworkers. Its worldwide workforce totals close to 6,000.
Relative to FHI 360, RTI International’s work appears less concentrated on foreign initiatives. Among its clients are the Florida Department of Health, the State of New York and the Texas Education Agency.
Yet RTI’s global outreach is significant. According to the Congressional Research Service, the nonprofit organization was obligated to receive $2.3 billion from USAID for nonmilitary foreign assistance between 2013 and 2022. FHI 360 received the third-most USAID funding among nongovernmental organizations during this period; RTI International was sixth.
USAID-funded projects RTI highlighted in its 2024 annual report focus on eliminating tropical diseases in Bangladesh, supporting “climate-smart solutions” in Uganda, and bolstering Ethiopia’s agricultural industry, among others.
“We’re working to understand the potential impacts (of USAID cuts) and will get back in touch if we have updates to share,” RTI spokesperson Kerry Branon said in an email.
President John Kennedy created USAID through an executive order in 1961, near the height of the Cold War. In a speech to Congress earlier that year, Kennedy called providing foreign assistance part of the country’s moral, economic and political “obligations.”
NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 6:29 PM with the headline "200 NC workers furloughed as Trump’s USAID cuts imperil 2 major Triangle nonprofits."
