US state department layoffs: Trump administration orders workforce reduction; over 1300 employees affected

The US State Department on Friday (local time) laid off more than 1,300 employees as part of the Trump administration’s latest move to cut its American workforce by about 15%. This is part of a broader effort to reorganize the department.According to a notice sent to State department employees, the layoffs include 1107 civil service employees and 246 foreign service officers. Overall, nearly 3000 people are expected to leave.The department is also rearranging the organizational structure of staff. These layoffs, officially called a “reduction-in-force” or RIF, have been planned for months. Officials sent the reorganization plan to Congress in March, saying the cuts were necessary to remove duplicate offices and focus on the department’s core responsibilities.However, critics argue the cuts will hurt the State Department’s ability to work. All Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday opposing the layoffs."During a time of increasingly complex and wide-spread challenges to U.S. national security, this administration should be strengthening our diplomatic corps—an irreplaceable instrument of U.S. power and leadership—not weakening it," the senators wrote."However, RIFs would severely undermine the Department's ability to achieve U.S. foreign policy interests, putting our nation's security, strength, and prosperity at risk," the letter added, as reported by news agency CBS. Foreign service officers who received layoff notices will leave their jobs in 120 days, while civil service employees will depart in 60 days.The long planned layoffs began just days after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s broader plan to slash the size of government workforce, overruling a lower court's order that halted layoff plans at dozens of federal agencies.Department staff were notified about the upcoming layoffs on Thursday afternoon in a message from Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas, who thanked departing staff "for their dedication and service to the United States." Some employees were instructed that because of the planned layoffs, they would not be allowed to work remotely on Friday. They were told to report to the office with all department-issued items, including laptops, phones, diplomatic passports, travel cards and other government property. An email explained that badges would be collected during the checkout process and reminded staff to gather any personal belongings beforehand.Diplomats and other staff applauded departing colleagues in emotional scenes at the State Department’s Washington headquarters that runs US foreign policy and embassies around the world.The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the union representing State Department employees, criticized the move as a “catastrophic blow to our national interests.”"At a moment of great global instability -- with war raging in Ukraine, conflict between Israel and Iran, and authoritarian regimes testing the boundaries of international order -- the United States has chosen to gut its frontline diplomatic workforce," AFSA said in a statement."We oppose this decision in the strongest terms," the statement added.