State Department Slashes 1,350 Jobs in Sweeping Reorganization, Faces Backlash and Error Notices

The State Department initiated its most significant reorganization in decades on Friday, laying off over 1,350 employees. The cuts, affecting 1,107 civil service and 246 Foreign Service personnel, led to immediate departures from department headquarters, with some employees carrying boxes and being met by applause from protestors.

Adding to the chaotic scene, the department admitted that some employees erroneously received Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notices, later retracting them as an “administrative error.”

Among those laid off was Michael Duffin, a senior policy advisor whose Bureau of Counterterrorism office, focused on combating antisemitism and white supremacy, was eliminated. Duffin criticized the process as arbitrary, stating, “arbitrarily laying off people like me and others, irrespective of their performance, is not the right way to do it.”

These layoffs follow a recent Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the Trump administration’s plans to shrink the federal workforce. The department aims to see nearly 3,000 employees leave in total—approximately 15% of its workforce—through a combination of RIFs and voluntary departures.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) has vehemently criticized the cuts, warning that the Foreign Service is already under-resourced. AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi called the layoff process “Russian roulette,” asserting it was “untethered from merit or mission.” Notably, AFSA’s incoming president and officers recently recommended for promotion were among those receiving RIF notices.

Despite the controversy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and spokesperson Tammy Bruce defended the reorganization, stating it is a “deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused” and to restore “results-driven diplomacy.”

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