The State Department has notified its employees of upcoming mass layoffs as part of a reorganization plan to form a “more agile” department.
Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, said in an internal email on Thursday that terminations to impacted workers will be sent “soon,” and added that “we want to thank them for their service to the United States.”
“Once notifications have taken place, the Department will enter the final stage of its reorganization and focus its attention on delivering result-driven diplomacy,” Rigas said in an interview message that was reviewed by multiple outlets.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the reorganization plan for the department in April and delivered it to Congress in late May, saying it would result in a “more agile Department, better equipped to promote America’s interests and keep Americans safe across the world.”
The effort will likely lead to hundreds of the department’s workers losing their jobs. State Department officials have not mentioned when the first “reduction in force” notices would go out, but some are reportedly expected to be sent out as early as Friday.
When reached for comment, the State Department referred The Hill to the department’s Thursday press briefing.
“This is not going to be an extended wait for people who are listening and watching in this building or fellow Americans at home and around the world. This will happen quickly,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Rigas’s email comes two days after the Supreme Court lifted the district court’s order barring President Trump’s administration from performing mass layoffs. It is unclear how many people will be laid off, but the department proposed cutting nearly 2,000 employees when delivering its organizational plan to Congress in May.
Rubio, while speaking to reporters Thursday in Malaysia after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said the RIFs are a consequence of the reorganization effort, not of “trying to get rid of people."
“But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions. Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people,” Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security advisor, added. “Some of them are unfilled positions for potential – or positions that someone took early retirement, and therefore are now – or about to be unfilled.”
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