AP: US State Department to lay off hundreds of employees under Trump administration's plan
Marco Rubio (Photo: Will Oliver/EPA)

On Friday, July 11, the U.S. State Department will lay off more than 1,300 employees under a radical reorganization plan that critics say will damage U.S. global leadership and efforts to counter threats from abroad. This was reported by Associated Press, citing an unnamed official with knowledge of the matter.

He said that the agency has begun sending out layoff notices to 1107 civil servants and 246 diplomatic service employees who are on internal jobs in the United States.

According to an internal report obtained by the AP, the affected diplomatic service employees will be placed on administrative leave for 120 days, after which they will officially lose their positions. For most civil servants, the period of dismissal is 60 days, according to the report.

"In connection with the reorganization of the department... the department is optimizing internal operations to focus on diplomatic priorities," the document says.

The State Department added that the reduction in staffing was thought out "taking into account non-core functions, duplicative or redundant units, and units where centralization or consolidation of functions and responsibilities can provide significant efficiencies".

While U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Republican lawmakers have praised the cuts as long overdue and necessary to make the department leaner, more flexible and efficient, they have been sharply criticized by current and former diplomats who argue that they will weaken U.S. influence and ability to confront existing and emerging threats abroad.

The article says that the layoffs are part of a major change in the State Department. The Trump administration has pushed for a reorganization of American diplomacy and has been actively working to reduce the size of the federal government, including massive layoffs initiated by the Office of Government Effectiveness and moves to eliminate entire departments such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Education.

The American Academy of Diplomacy, which includes hundreds of former officials, said the State Department layoffs "will seriously undermine our government's ability to understand, explain, and respond to a complex and increasingly contested world".

"At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented challenges from strategic competitors and adversaries, conflicts in Central Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and emerging security threats, the decision to reduce the State Department's institutional knowledge and operational capabilities is an act of vandalism," the organization said in a statement last week.

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