US State Department Begins Mass Layoffs After Court Decision

Last updated on July 21st, 2025 at 06:27 am

The US State Department started sending out more than 1,350 termination notices to initiate a reorganization plan proposed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after a Supreme Court determination removed the obstruction to the Trump administration’s plan to enforce mass layoffs of government employees. The layoffs began on Friday morning and are expected to impact roughly 15% of the department, which includes civil service and foreign service employees. An internal email stated that’s where the 1,107 civil service staff and 246 foreign service officers with domestic roles are being terminated. Reportedly, an additional 1,600 people left the State Department in the past before layoff healthily off or through a voluntary redundancy plan. 

The goal of the reorganizational strategy is to bring the department in line with Donald Trump’s “America First” policy; however, it has, as evidenced by protests of diplomats, employee groups, and various members of Congress, incurred extreme backlash. The American Foreign Service Association condemned the layoff notices, as fewer resources mean a diminished American presence in the world at a time of war and instability in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and other places of unrest. Technical glitches also confused, as layoff notice settings were supposed to be sent out at once instead of separately. And as laid-off people do not have workplaces created, people gathered on the steps of the State Department to indicate their support for layoffs. Democratic senators added their concerns and warnings that removing experienced professional diplomats during critical times of concern around the world is bad for national security and diplomacy. Despite the backlash, a senior State Department official informed us that the department is working to process the process as civilly and equitably as possible.