US state department fires 1,300 staff under Trump’s downsizing plan

The US State Department has begun dismissing more than 1,300 employees as part of a sweeping reorganization under the Trump administration’s plan to downsize the federal government.

According to CNN said the layoffs include 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers. Employees are being notified via email, with many placed on administrative leave—foreign service staff for 120 days and most civil servants for 60 days—before termination.

“Nearly 3,000 members of the workforce will depart as part of the reorganization,” the notice said, including both involuntary and voluntary departures.

“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,” the notice read. It said reductions target “non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices,” and those where “considerable efficiencies” can be gained through consolidation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, currently returning from Malaysia, said the overhaul was being carried out “probably in the most deliberate way of anyone that’s done one.”

A senior official said the changes are “personnel agnostic,” focusing on functions no longer aligned with department goals. While overseas posts remain unaffected, many in Washington, DC, will be impacted.

Thomas Yazdgerdi, president of the American Foreign Service Association, called the timing troubling. “There are horrible things that are happening in the world that require a tried-and-true diplomatic workforce,” he said, pointing to crises in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran.

Yazdgerdi warned the cuts could damage morale, recruitment, and retention. “We’re like the military,” he said. “If you’re going to RIF an office, we’re not tied to that office.”