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2w ago

State Department Begins Issuing Layoff Notices to Over 1,300 Employees

A Supreme Court ruling this week cleared the way for the department to begin cutting roughly 15 percent of its U.S. workforce to streamline operations in line with administration priorities.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, DC on July 7.
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Overview

  • Layoff notices were sent Friday to 1,107 civil servants and 246 Foreign Service officers with domestic assignments.
  • The reductions amount to about 15 percent of the department’s approximately 18,000 U.S.-based employees, targeting non-core and overlapping offices.
  • The Supreme Court’s July 10 decision lifted a lower-court injunction that had halted mass federal layoffs across multiple agencies.
  • The reorganization plan dissolves key functional bureaus, including civilian security and democracy offices, and rescinds most diversity and inclusion programs.
  • Veteran diplomats and the American Foreign Service Association warn that the cuts risk undermining U.S. diplomatic capabilities during a critical geopolitical period.