Over 60 journalists at Alhurra, other outlets lose jobs, forced to leave US

Over 60 journalists at the Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN) on working visas have been given less than a month to leave the US after their contracts were terminated.

Journalists at MBN told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the network ended their contracts and told them they no longer had the right to work or reside in the US.

MBN operates Alhurra and Alhurra Iraq channels, Sawa and Sawa Iraq radio stations, and other Arabic-language radio stations and websites.

The network employed more than 600 staff, which included around 450 based in the US. But no more than 40 have been kept, and those whose contracts were terminated have not received any compensation, reported Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The journalists said MBN did not honour their legal rights, including booking them a flight ticket back to their country of origin or paying them compensation.

TNA contacted the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the federal agency that oversees MBN, for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The layoffs come after President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding to several US agencies, including USAID, which funds development programmes and provides humanitarian assistance around the world.

MBN President and CEO Jeffrey Gedmin said earlier this month that the network would be forced to significantly reduce the number of staff, thus cutting production.

Financial rights 'ignored'

One journalist who requested to remain anonymous told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he has two children in primary and middle school. He said the decision taken by MBN did not take into account the future of his sons, especially since they are threatened with leaving before the end of the school year – around late May or early June in the US – which means they will lose out on an entire academic year.

He pointed out that MBN’s administration ignored all his financial rights, and he is now required to book four plane tickets at his own expense for him and his family to leave the country, which will cost him thousands of dollars that he does not have, despite the network legally being obliged to do this for him.

In March, TNA reported on the Trump administration’s decision to freeze funding for USAGM, leaving MBN’s employees uncertain about their future.