State Department To Cut 1800 jobs in diplomatic overhaul
The U.S. State Department will begin notifying employees of impending layoffs as early as Friday, marking the start of the most extensive restructuring of America's diplomatic corps in decades. The cuts, affecting nearly 15% of the department's domestic workforce, will eliminate approximately 1,800 positions as part of President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda.
The layoffs became possible after the Supreme Court lifted a lower court's injunction blocking the Trump administration's mass federal workforce reductions across 19 agencies. Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael Rigas informed staff Thursday that reduction-in-force notices would be sent "in the coming days".
Sweeping Reorganization Takes Effect
The restructuring will consolidate or eliminate more than 300 of the department's 734 bureaus and offices. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who submitted the reorganization plan to Congress in May, said the eliminated offices either lack legal mandates, don't align with Trump's priorities, have overlapping functions, or "represent radical causes".
According to Fox News, employees expect notifications between 10 a.m. and noon Friday, with financial information provided around 3 p.m.. Workers anticipate losing building access by day's end.
The hardest-hit areas include bureaus focused on democracy promotion, human rights, and conflict resolution. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor faces deep cuts, while the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration will be repurposed into an "Office of Remigration" to facilitate deportations.
Workforce Reduction Strategy
More than half the 15% reduction target will come through voluntary departures, including employees who accepted "deferred resignation" packages offered earlier this year. The remaining cuts will affect both civil service workers and Foreign Service officers currently stationed domestically.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce defended the reorganization Thursday, telling reporters that "when something is too large to operate, too bureaucratic to actually function and to deliver projects or action, it has to change".
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