The US State Department has sent out layoff emails to more than 1,300 employees as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s plans to cut costs and eliminate “redundancies” and inefficiencies in the work of government structures. About this informs The Washington Post.
Diplomats who worked in the Office on the Global Status of Women and in the State Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Program were the most cutbacks. The layoffs also affected specialists involved in key areas such as Syria policy, chemical weapons control and nuclear diplomacy.
Employees received an email notification that they were being placed on administrative leave. According to the documents, diplomatic personnel will be officially dismissed 120 days after receiving the notice, and civil servants after 60 days.
In an explanatory memo sent to staff, the primary goal of the reorganization is to “focus the Department’s resources on policy priorities and eliminate duplicative functions to better serve the American taxpayer.”
Alex Bell, a former employee of the State Department and now the president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said that experts on nuclear testing, verification of nuclear programs and the cessation of production of weapons-grade fissile material have been cut.
“These cuts will only increase the nuclear threats this country faces,” – said Bell.
On July 11, a wave of layoffs swept through the State Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom. Security personnel were on duty on each floor, and diplomats were crying and hugging in the corridors. Employees were escorted to conference rooms, where they had to collect personal belongings and hand in work materials. Those who had not yet received their layoff notices held signs reading “Thank you for your service” and “Your work has left its mark.”
Photo: washingtonpost.com
