US President Donald Trump administration appointees in charge of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) sent employees an email on Sunday afternoon saying that they were firing 2,000 workers and putting up to thousands of foreign service officers and other direct hires around the world on paid leave starting that night, reports The New York Times.

The only exceptions to the leave would be people working on “mission-critical programs,” as well as “core leadership,” and employees supporting “specially designated programs,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The New York Times.