Over 1,000 State Department Employees Laid Off Amid Federal Workforce Cuts

Over 1,000 State Department Employees Laid Off Amid Federal Workforce Cuts
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More than 1,000 employees at the US State Department have been laid off as part of the Trump administration’s push to shrink the federal workforce. According to an internal notice obtained by CBS News, the involuntary layoffs include 1,107 civil service employees and 246 foreign service officers. Earlier this year, over 1,500 other employees took voluntary departures under the same reorganization effort.

Critics warn the sweeping cuts could undermine key functions. CBS reported that nearly all civil service staff in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration’s admissions office — responsible for US refugee resettlement — were dismissed, along with staff in the Afghan Relocation Efforts office.

Protesters gathered outside the State Department with signs thanking diplomats, while departing employees were seen hugging colleagues and carrying belongings out. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the move, saying, “If you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions.”

Democratic senators condemned the cuts, calling them “blanket and indiscriminate” and a threat to national security. The layoffs follow a Supreme Court ruling allowing the administration to move forward with reducing the federal workforce by 18%. The cuts also coincide with the closure of USAID, whose programs were mostly absorbed by the State Department.