The State Department on Friday began notifying 1,353 affected workers of their pending job losses as the department reduces its workforce by 15%.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department began firing more than 1,350 U.S.-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 U.S. ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad.

The State Department informed U.S.-based employees on Thursday that it would soon be laying off nearly 2,000 workers as part of a plan to downsize its domestic workforce.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The State Department is firing more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan initiated by the Trump administration earlier this year.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s plan to downsize a “bloated” department had been on hold after a court ruling.

The department is sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with domestic assignments in the United States, said a senior State Department official.

The State Department has formally advised staffers that it will be sending layoff notices to some of them soon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists he is streamlining a bloated department, but critics warn the cost to America’s standing and influence could be high.

The U.S. State Department will start firing more than 1,350 U.S-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its U.S. diplomatic corps,

State Department eliminates 132 offices and cuts 15% of Washington staff in Marco Rubio's sweeping overhaul criticized as diplomatic vandalism.