All employees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will be placed on administrative leave from Friday, including abroad, according to a document posted on the organization's website.

"As of Friday, all USAID direct-hire staff will be placed on administrative leave worldwide, with the exception of designated staff responsible for mission-critical functions, central leadership and specially designated programs," says a statement posted on the USAID portal, which is back online after going dark last week.

The statement said that it is preparing a plan for staff deployed outside the United States "under which the Agency will organize and pay for travel back to the United States within 30 days" and will terminate "contracts that are not considered essential".

As the name implies, a direct hire is a civil servant directly employed by the US government, as opposed to contractors, who make up a large part of USAID's workforce. Many of these contractors have already been laid off or fired. Essential personnel who are expected to continue working will be informed by Thursday afternoon.

According to a CNNAccording to the same USAID press release, employees working abroad and their families have 30 days to return to the United States.

The directive comes at a time when the Trump administration has begun to dismantle the agency and freeze almost all foreign aid. A day earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would be USAID's acting administrator, confirming the State Department's de facto takeover of the humanitarian agency.

USAID employs about 10,000 people, two-thirds of whom are stationed abroad, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In recent days, dozens of senior USAID officials have been placed on leave, thousands of contractors have been fired and employees were told this week not to report to the agency's headquarters in Washington.

(Photo DR)