Layoffs begin at Trump State Department
Layoff notices have begun going out at the Department of State, which is expected to reduce its staffing level by thousands as the administration of President Donald Trump reorganizes government.
A report from CBS said the immediate layoffs are affecting about 1,300 staff members.
That would include 1,107 civil service members and 246 foreign service workers, according to a notice sent to department workers.
“The total number of staff departing as a part of the State Department’s reorganization is ‘nearly 3,000,’ according to the department, a figure that includes those who took the ‘Fork in the Road’ voluntary departure offer earlier this year,” the report said.
#BREAKING: State Department layoffs are taking place this morning.
The reduction in force will amount to 3,000 total employees, according to an internal State Department communication obtained by @RCPolitics RealClearPolitics and attached below.
That’s 1,107 civil… pic.twitter.com/gGtRDYOGcA
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 11, 2025
JUST IN: The State Department is sending formal layoff notices to more than 1,300 employees, according to internal department communication reviewed by ABC News.https://t.co/5WcIpjkMvB pic.twitter.com/VNOLPqmJh4
— ABC News (@ABC) July 11, 2025
“We took a very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused,” Marco Rubio, secretary of state, confirmed to reporters on Thursday.
State notified lawmakers several weeks ago it planned to eliminate about 3,400 U.S.-based jobs and close or merge many of its domestic offices.
“At the time, the department said it planned to phase out some offices focused on democracy or human rights that it claimed were ‘prone to ideological capture,’ and add new offices focused on ‘civil liberties’ and ‘free market principles,'” the network said.
Also inside State now are a few remaining duties of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was shut down by Trump after its employees spent years handing out American tax cash to foreign groups with ideologies often that conflicted with America’s interests.
A union representing workers complained that the moves were demoralizing the workforce.
The Washington Examiner reported some of the workers affected will be on 120-day administrative leaves before their jobs are shut down.
Rubio has said a goal is to cut through a “bloated bureaucracy.”
“There were 40 boxes on this piece of paper,” he told senators in May. “That means 40 people had to check off ‘yes’ before it even got to me. That’s ridiculous. And if any one of those boxes didn’t get checked, the memo didn’t move. That can’t continue.”
The plan includes eliminating 132 offices and changing rules to allow the firing of officials.