U.S. diplomats brace for layoffs after months in limbo

U.S. diplomats in Washington are bracing for cuts to the State Department workforce, with dismissal notices expected to hit inboxes as soon as Friday, according to three State Department officials with knowledge of the plans.

U.S. diplomats in Washington are bracing for cuts to the State Department workforce, with dismissal notices expected to hit inboxes as soon as Friday, according to three State Department officials with knowledge of the plans. The layoffs are part of a mass reorganization of the federal agency, including the dissolution or merging of more than 300 bureaus and offices and a 15% reduction in employees.

“In April, the Secretary announced the largest reorganization of the Department in decades,” Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, wrote in an email sent to all agency employees Thursday evening. “The objective from the start was clear: focus resources on policy priorities and eliminate redundant functions, empowering our people while increasing accountability.”

Rigas said the terminations would be issued to affected employees soon, adding, “First and foremost, we want to thank them for their dedication and service to the United States.”

The restructuring has been in the works for months, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio notifying Congress in late May that as many as 1,800 U.S.-based workers would be cut from the approximately 19,000 employed by the State Department. More than 1,500 additional employees at the department took the Trump administration’s offer of deferred resignations, which will carry their salaries and health care benefits through September.

Rubio said he was proud of the way the Trump administration had undertaken a reorganization that was arguably “the most deliberate way of anyone that’s done one.”