The State Department is laying off more than 1.300 people today under a drastic reorganization plan by President Donald Trump's administration.
The department is sending layoff notices today to 1.107 "regular" civil servants and 246 from the foreign service in jobs in the United States, a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
The foreign service officers affected will be placed on immediate administrative leave for 120 days, after which they will formally lose their jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. But for the rest, which is the majority of officers, the administrative leave is half that length, 60 days.
"Domestic operations are being streamlined to focus on diplomatic priorities," the announcement said. "The staff reductions are carefully tailored and targeted at non-core functions, duplicated or redundant services, and services where efficiencies can be achieved by centralizing or consolidating functions and responsibilities."
Although Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their Republican allies have praised budget cuts to make the department smaller and more efficient, current and former diplomats have sharply criticized the budget cuts, saying they will weaken U.S. influence in the world and the ability to confront crises.
The Trump administration has pushed for a reshaping of the foreign service and has aggressively worked to reduce the size of the federal government, including massive layoffs and even the closure of entire departments like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Education.
A recent Supreme Court ruling has paved the way for layoffs to begin, although court cases challenging the legality of staff reductions continue.
Rubio said officials had taken "a very thoughtful step to reorganize the State Department to make it more efficient and focused."
"This is not a result of trying to get rid of people. But if you close a service, you don't need those jobs," he told reporters on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he is attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum. "Understand that you are cutting jobs, not people," he explained.
He said some of the cuts will come from unfilling previously vacant positions and positions as some employees retire.
The American Foreign Service Association, the union representing diplomats, last month called on the State Department to delay job cuts.
In late May, the State Department informed the US Congress of an updated reorganization plan, proposing, in addition to what Rubio had previously revealed, a reduction in programs and a reduction in the number of employees in the US by 18 percent, while 15 percent was originally planned in April.
The State Department plans to dismantle some departments responsible for overseeing the two-decade-long US involvement in Afghanistan, including the agency responsible for resettling Afghan citizens who worked with the US military.
The letter the department sent to Congress states that the reorganization will affect more than 300 services and offices, eliminating departments described as having unclear scope or overlapping responsibilities with others.
The letter makes it clear that the reorganization is also intended to eliminate programs – particularly those related to refugees and immigration, as well as human rights and democracy promotion – that the Trump administration considers to be “ideological” and run in a manner that is incompatible with its priorities and policies.
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