A recent ruling by the Supreme Court cleared the way for the layoffs to start, while lawsuits challenging the legality of the cuts continue to play out.
Michael Rigas, the department’s deputy secretary for management and resources, said in a statement that select staffers would be informed if they were being laid off and called it part of the department’s biggest reorganisation in decades.”Soon, the Department will be communicating to individuals affected by the reduction in force. First and foremost, we want to thank them for their dedication and service to the United States,” he said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people would be dismissed.
In late May, the State Department notified Congress of an updated reorganisation plan, proposing cuts to programs beyond what had been revealed earlier by Rubio as well as an 18% reduction of staff in the US, even higher than the 15% initially floated in April.
Rigas’ statement said the department is aiming to “focus resources on policy priorities and eliminate redundant functions, empowering our people while increasing accountability”. Critics say the scale of cuts floated will lessen US influence globally and make it hard for many departments to carry out their missions.
The State Department is planning to eliminate some divisions tasked with oversight of America’s two-decade involvement in Afghanistan, including an office focused on resettling Afghan nationals who worked alongside the US military. It also intends to eliminate programs related to refugees and immigration, as well as human rights and democracy promotion.
The American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents diplomats, urged the State Department last month to hold off on job cuts.
Notices for a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate positions altogether, “should be a last resort,” association President Tom Yazdgerdi said. “Disrupting the Foreign Service like this puts national interests at risk — and Americans everywhere will bear the consequences.”
