The State Department informed U.S.-based employees on Thursday that it would soon begin laying off nearly 2,000 workers after the recent Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to move forward with mass job cuts as part of its efforts to downsize the federal workforce.
The agency's reorganization plan was first unveiled in April by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to eliminate functions and offices the department considered to be redundant. In February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing Rubio to revamp the foreign service to ensure that the president's foreign policy is "faithfully" implemented.
Employees affected by the agency's "reduction in force" would be notified soon, Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael Rigas told employees in an email on Thursday.
"First and foremost, we want to thank them for their dedication and service to the United States," Rigas said in the email.
"Every effort has been made to support our colleagues who are departing, including those who opted into the Deferred Resignation Programs … On behalf of Department leadership, we extend our gratitude for your hard work and commitment to executing this reorganization and for your ongoing dedication to advancing U.S. national interests across the world," he added.
The department did not specify on Thursday how many people would be fired, but in its plans to Congress sent in May, it had proposed laying off about 1,800 employees of the 18,000 estimated domestic workforce. Another 1,575 were estimated to have taken deferred resignations.
