The U.S. State Department is firing more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan from the Trump administration that critics say will damage America’s global leadership and efforts to counter threats abroad.
The department has begun sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with assignments in the United States, according to a senior department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Staff began to receive notices shortly after 10 a.m. Friday saying their positions were being “abolished” and that they would be losing access to the department’s headquarters in Washington as well as their email and share drives by 5 p.m., according to a copy of one of the notices obtained by The Associated Press.
Foreign service officers affected will be placed immediately on administrative leave for 120 days, after which they will formally lose their jobs, according to a separate internal notice. For most civil servants, the separation period is 60 days, it said.
While lauded by President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their Republican allies as overdue and necessary to make the department leaner, more nimble and more efficient, the cuts have been roundly criticized by current and former diplomats.
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court cleared the way for the layoffs to start, while lawsuits challenging the legality of the cuts continue to play out. The department had advised staffers Thursday that it would be sending layoff notices to some of them soon.
The job cuts are large but considerably less than many had feared. In a May letter notifying Congress about the reorganization, the department said it had just over 18,700 U.S.-based employees and was looking to reduce the workforce by 18% through layoffs and voluntary departures, including deferred resignation programs.
“It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions,” Rubio told reporters Thursday during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people.”
The American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents U.S. diplomats, said Friday it opposed the Trump administration’s cuts during “a moment of great global instability.”
“In less than six months, the U.S. has shed at least 20 percent of its diplomatic workforce through shuttering of institutions and forced resignations,” the organization said in a statement. “Losing more diplomatic expertise at this critical global moment is a catastrophic blow to our national interests.”
The department told Congress in May of an updated reorganization plan, proposing cuts to programs beyond what had been revealed a month earlier by Rubio and an 18% reduction of U.S.-based staff, higher than the 15% initially floated.
The State Department is planning to eliminate some divisions tasked with oversight of America’s two-decade involvement in Afghanistan, including an office focused on resettling Afghan nationals who worked alongside the U.S. military.
The State Department noted that the reorganization will affect more than 300 bureaus and offices, saying it is eliminating divisions it describes as doing unclear or overlapping work. It said Rubio believes “effective modern diplomacy requires streamlining this bloated bureaucracy.”
FILE – Federal workers and supporters rally outside of the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
The headquarters of the Department of State is seen, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A sign is seen outside the headquarters of the Department of State, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gestures as he boards his flight before departing from Subang Air Base, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on Friday, July 11, 2025, after attending the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)