The State Department on Friday began terminating more than 1,300 positions as part of the Trump administration’s effort to trim the size of the federal workforce.
The State Department on Friday began terminating more than 1,300 positions as part of the Trump administration’s effort to trim the size of the federal workforce.
The layoffs will affect 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with assignments in the US, according to a senior department official.
Employees began receiving termination notices in the morning informing them that their positions were being “abolished.”
By afternoon, several laid-off staffers were spotted tearfully departing the State Department’s headquarters. They were met by a crowd of clapping supporters outside the Harry S. Truman Building, near the White House.
“Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices,” read the message sent to the axed staffers.
Affected foreign service officers will be placed on administrative leave for 120 days before officially losing their jobs.
