US announces first phase of major State Department overhaul
The US State Department will restructure, cutting about 700 positions and 132 domestic offices, in line with the "President's Workforce Optimization Initiative".
According to CNN, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he has begun implementing the first phase of a major plan to reorganize the US State Department with changes that will eliminate 132 domestic offices, cut about 700 positions in Washington DC and close offices focusing on war crimes and global conflicts.
The State Department believes the changes are necessary to maintain the department's effectiveness and relevance, according to a senior State Department official and documents obtained by CNN. A senior State Department official called the agency's current organizational chart "bloated" and said it has a "harmful impact on foreign policy."
A senior State Department official said the changes would not result in immediate layoffs, but signaled that officials would lose their jobs. As part of the reorganization, 700 positions at the Washington headquarters are expected to be eliminated.
"As part of the plan, undersecretaries will also submit a roadmap to reduce staff in domestic offices by 15%, consistent with the President's Workforce Optimization Initiative," an internal State Department source obtained by CNN said.
The long-awaited reorganization proposal, unveiled on April 22 (Washington time), did not go into specifics. Instead, the senior State Department official described it as a “roadmap.” Undersecretaries of State were tasked with developing plans within 30 days for the leadership to implement the changes by July 1.
The goal is to reorganize the State Department in a way that is “structurally consistent” with what the administration wants. The changes will reduce the number of offices at the department’s headquarters from 734 to 602 — a 22% reduction. An additional 137 offices will be moved “to another location within the department to increase efficiency,” according to CNN.