The US state department on Friday said it is set to reduce its workforce by more than 1,300 employees as part of a major reorganisation plan proposed by the Trump administration.According to senior state department officials, 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers based in the US will receive termination notices.As per the internal notice reviewed by Associated Press, foreign service officers impacted by the cuts will be placed on 120-day administrative leave, after which their employment will be officially terminated. Affected civil servants will face a 60-day separation period.The notice says the job cuts are part of a restructuring meant to “streamline domestic operations” and cut down on overlap, with more focus on core diplomatic work.“Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and areas where efficiencies can be found,” the memo reads.The move is backed by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and US president Donald Trump, and has been projected as a way to make the department more efficient.“This isn’t about firing people,” said Rubio while attending the ASEAN regional forum in Kuala Lumpur. “Some positions are being eliminated because the bureaus they belong to are being shut down. Others are unfilled or are becoming vacant due to early retirements.”Critics argue that the downsizing will severely weaken US diplomatic influence, particularly in addressing emerging global threats.Several lawsuits challenging the layoffs are still underway, but a recent US supreme court ruling cleared the legal pathway for the dismissals to begin.In May, the state department notified congress of its updated plan, including an 18 per cent domestic staff reduction, exceeding the original 15 per cent estimate.The internal communication revealed that over 300 offices and bureaus will be impacted. Some of the key areas facing elimination include divisions overseeing refugee resettlement, democracy promotion, human rights, and immigration-related programmes.These are areas that the Trump administration has deemed ideologically incompatible with its policy direction.Also, divisions that look into the US’s 20-year role in Afghanistan, including efforts to resettle Afghan allies, are also set to be cut.The reorganisation is also part of efforts to merge the remaining roles of USAID into the state department. The Trump administration and former aide Elon Musk’s department of government efficiency had targeted USAID for a long time.
