(Washington) American diplomacy began the dismissal of more than 1,300 of its employees on Friday, an official of the State Department told AFP.
Precisely 1353 employees are targeted by this wave of layoffs, the first major in the US administration since the Supreme Court opened the path at the start of the week to the massive dismissal of federal officials wanted by Donald Trump, according to this source.
“We oppose this decision with the greatest firmness,” cracked the Association of American Diplomats (AFSA) in a press release, by calling it as a “catastrophic blow to our national interests”.
“At a period of global global instability-with the war raging in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Iran, and the authoritarian regimes that test the limits of the international order-the United States has chosen to burn its diplomatic staff on the front line,” she denounces.
The State Department had nearly 18,000 employees in the United States in September 2024, and around 80,000 including its staff on the foreign, according to data from its services.
He had noted the day before that he would “soon” implement his workforce reduction plan prepared for several months and that the employees concerned would be informed by email.
One of his senior officials said that he only concerned the staff employed on American territory and that there was “no project for the moment” to touch the workforce abroad. He added that all the officials returned would be informed on the same day.
Upon his return to the White House in January, Donald Trump led drums beating drastic cuts in the federal administration and made federal officials one of his main targets.
