State Department Starts Laying Off 1,300 Staff in Major Purge

July 11, 2025, 5:18 PM UTC

The State Department began laying off more than 1,300 US-based diplomats and other employees on Friday, after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could go ahead with plans to slash the size of the federal workforce.

The layoffs affect 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers on domestic assignments, according to a notice dated July 11 and seen by Bloomberg News. They are expected to be notified via email and placed on administrative leave immediately. Nearly 3,000 employees will leave the department as part of the reorganization, the document said.

“The objective from the start was clear: ...

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