Per CNN, the State Department is sending notices to the fired employees while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is returning from his trip to Malaysia.

“Nearly 3,000 members of the workforce will depart as part of the reorganization,” the department stated, per CNN. “In connection with the Departmental reorganization first announced by the Secretary of State on April 22, 2025, the Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities.” 

What do the reductions include?

Per the notice, the reductions include “non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found from centralization or consolidation of functions and responsibilities.”

For the foreign service officers who received “Reduction in Force” notices, the department plans to give them administrative leave for 120 days before they officially lose their jobs.

“Most civil servants will be placed on leave for 60 days before their firing takes effect,” the department clarified.

The Trump administration faces heavy criticism after the State Department fired over 1,300 employees

Thomas Yazdgerdi, the president of the American Foreign Service Association, expressed his concerns about Trump’s actions when he spoke with CNN. Yazdgerdi said the administration is making critical cuts at a time when diplomacy is critical.

“There are horrible things that are happening in the world that require a tried-and-true diplomatic workforce that’s able to address that,” Yazdgerdi told CNN. “The ability to maintain a presence in the areas of the world that are incredibly important, dealing with issues like Ukraine, like Gaza, like Iran right now that require great diplomatic attention.”

The American Foreign Service Association also released a statement on Friday to express its support for the State Department workforce.

“There were clear, institutional mechanisms available to address excess staffing, if that had been the goal. Instead, these layoffs are untethered from merit or mission,” the organization stated, per CNN. “They target diplomats not for how they’ve served or the skills they have, but for where they happen to be assigned. That is not reform.”
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