The State Department said on July 11 that it will lose nearly 3,000 employees as part of its reorganization plan.
A State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times that “Care has been taken not to compromise core diplomatic functions, including diplomatic security, passport services, and diplomats staffing country desks.”
The restructuring includes the firing of 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service employees with domestic assignments. Other employees have opted to voluntarily leave.
The department started sending layoff notices the same day, letting employees know that their positions were “abolished,” according to a notice obtained and reviewed by The Associated Press.
Terminated employees will lose access to the department’s headquarters at 5 p.m.
Affected foreign service officers were placed on immediate administrative leave for 120 days, after which time they will be relieved of their positions, according to a separate internal notice. For most civil servants, the separation period is 60 days.
The move comes after an April 22 announcement by the Department of State that it would work to implement a “historic reorganization” in order to “better align” with “America First” foreign policy priorities.
“Secretary [Marco] Rubio is committed to ensuring the Department moves at the speed of relevancy,” the State Department official said in the emailed statement, saying the department worked with Congress to adopt a plan that reflects Rubio’s mission.
“The plan includes a targeted Reduction in Force in accordance with federal law and U.S. Office of Personnel Management regulations.”
Once the restructuring takes effect, the department expects that its workforce of domestic full-time employees will have been reduced by over 15 percent.
“The reorganization makes the Department more accountable, more accessible, and more transparent,” the department spokesperson said.
The Trump administration has worked to reduce the size of the federal government in a number of areas, including implementing layoffs recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Education were largely dismantled earlier this year, with USAID being absorbed by the State Department.
A recent Supreme Court ruling allowed the layoffs to take effect after a lawsuit challenged the legality of the administration’s change. The State Department referenced that in its email, saying, “The Supreme Court’s near unanimous decision confirms that the law was on our side throughout this entire process.”
Overall, the layoffs were not as large as previously expected. A May letter from the state department that notified Congress of the upcoming reorganization said the department has 18,700 U.S.-based employees and planned to reduce that force by 18 percent.
According to the spokesperson, a comprehensive review of the agency found that there were several outdated positions, as well as those who “had strayed from their original purpose, or were simply duplicative.”
The spokesperson stated that “the Department thanks the affected employees for their dedication and service to the United States.”
