More than 1,300 employees were forced out of the State Department on Friday, taking with them decades of specialized skills and on-the-job training.

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.

The U.S. State Department has commenced the layoff of over 1,300 diplomats and domestic employees following a Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to proceed with federal workforce reductions.

A U.S. diplomat laid off from the State Department after over 20 years says cutting the types of programs she worked on will be “devastating” to U.S. foreign policy and national security. The layoffs are part of a mass reorganization of the federal agency,

State is poised to be the first agency to move forward with RIFs after receiving the Supreme Court's blessing.

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

Videos show emotional scenes as tearful State Department employees emerge to applause from colleagues after being abruptly fired.

Employees of the U.S. State Department could receive a layoff notice via email very soon as part of the Trump administration's plan to downsize the government.

The State Department will start sending notices to members of its workforce impacted by the reorganization soon, the agency's top official for management said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's administration moves ahead with its plans to overhaul the U.

State Department to release letter to all employees Thursday evening informing them that it's officially moving to implement “targeted reduction in domestic workforce.”