State Dept starts firing over 1,350 workers

WASHINGTON:

The 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 US ability to defend and promote US interests abroad.

The layoffs, 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 crisis 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 non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found," it added.