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,” State Department Deputy Secretary for Management Michael Rigas 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 a deferred resignation, 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.”
“The reduction of force is a consequence of the reorg. It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people,” Rubio told reporters Thursday during a press availability in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “But if you’ve closed the bureau, you don’t need those positions.”
The terminations of employees at the State Department had been temporarily halted by a federal judge in California, but the Supreme Court ruled this week that the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul the diplomatic agency could move forward. The back-and-forth between the White House and the courts left thousands of civil servants and foreign service officers in limbo and unable to plan for their future.
One civil servant told NBC News on Thursday that she would welcome the ordeal finally being over. “We have known since the start it was coming. It was just a matter of when,” the diplomat told NBC News. “Every Friday morning, I wake up with dread. At least now we can move on.”
Asked about the resulting low morale at the State Department, a senior department official said the delays were unfortunate but outside of their control.
“The courts have delayed this reorganization, kept this uncertainty, unfortunately, over the workforce,” the senior official said. “That was not our intent. We want to move forward with this expeditiously, but obviously the administration has complied with all the court orders and injunctions.”
Two former senior career State Department diplomats told NBC News they were concerned about the collective loss of experience resulting from those taking early retirement and the impact of the layoffs on future recruitment for the U.S. diplomatic corps.
A senior State Department official said they were looking at how the agency recruits and retains talent as part of an executive order but the federal hiring freeze was still in place.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce praised the work of diplomats in the building for their commitment and patriotism but said this decision was not about the individual being targeted, but the need to reform a bureaucracy that has become too large to function.
“This is about making sure that the State Department is able to operate in a manner that makes it relevant and effective. That is what the American people want. It’s what all of us want, and in this dynamic, that’s exactly what we’re achieving,” Bruce said Thursday.
NBC News had previously reported that the State Department was conducting a review of U.S. missions overseas, including the potential closure of both consulates and embassies. But a senior State Department official said there are no plans for further cuts — for now.
“We don’t have any plans for that right now, but I think just good practice means a constant review and evaluation of how we’re doing our job,” the senior State Department official said.
