The ‘America First’ overhaul comes as Washington grapples with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Israel-Iran tensions and China’s growing influence
The US State Department began firing more than 1,350 US-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine America's ability to defend and promote its interests abroad.
The lay-offs, which affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers based in the United States, come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises on the world stage: Russia’s war in Ukraine, the almost two-year-long Gaza conflict, and the Middle East on edge due to high tension between Israel and Iran.
“The department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” an internal State Department notice that was sent to the workforce said. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect noncore functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found,” it added.
Your personal data will be processed and information from your device (cookies, unique identifiers, and other device data) may be stored by, accessed by and shared with 88 TCF vendor(s) and 20 ad partner(s), or used specifically by this site or app.
