The Trump administration is moving forward with its State Department workforce reduction, informing hundreds of Foreign Service employees this week that their layoffs will proceed as scheduled — despite a shutdown-ending spending deal that forced several other federal agencies to walk back similar actions.
The confirmation, first reported by Federal News Network, makes clear that the administration will not reinstate employees whose reduction in force (RIF) notices were issued earlier this year.
According to Federal News Network, the State Department's Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM) sent a notice Monday telling employees who received RIF notices on July 11 that their official separation date will be Friday.
The department said the shutdown-ending continuing resolution passed by Congress does not require the reversal of any layoff notices issued before the shutdown began.
The internal memo cited formal legal guidance from both the Office of Management and Budget and the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, concluding that completing layoffs initiated before the lapse in appropriations does not violate the Antideficiency Act or any provision in the spending deal.
"Given this determination, the Department will finalize your separation or involuntary retirement on Friday, December 5," the memo obtained by Federal News Network states.
Originally, affected Foreign Service employees were told they would be separated on Nov. 10, during the shutdown. The Department has now updated that date to Dec. 5.
In a separate notice, GTM told employees that their administrative leave would be extended and that the department is reviewing "administrative errors" in recently issued SF-50 forms — the federal government's official personnel records.
Federal News Network reported that one SF-50 showed the department's top HR official, Lew Olowski, approved the RIF effective Nov. 10.
A State Department spokesperson told Federal News Network the agency's legal advisers confirmed the RIF notices "are not impacted by the language in the recent continuing resolution," saying the process "was commenced and initiated well before the lapse in appropriations."
The department, the spokesperson said, "will proceed with executing the RIF process as planned."
The July 11 layoffs affected more than 1,300 employees, including roughly 1,100 civil service employees and nearly 250 Foreign Service officers.
Senior officials later told Congress it was the largest and most complex reduction of its kind, carried out in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management.
Civil service employees with 60-day notice periods were separated in early September, while Foreign Service officers — with 120-day notice periods — awaited further guidance.
Unions and Democrat lawmakers have argued that Congress intended for thousands of federal workers to be reinstated under the spending deal. The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) said the continuing resolution blocked the State Department from moving forward with layoffs and announced Tuesday it will pursue legal action.
"This action flies in the face of the current funding law, which clearly prohibits using any federal resources to carry out layoffs during this period," AFSA said.
Agencies, however, have interpreted the law narrowly — reinstating only employees who received RIF notices between Oct. 1 and Nov. 12, the period explicitly covered in the legislation.
Agencies have reported rescinding shutdown-era RIF notices for more than 3,600 federal workers. Others, including the Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration, have maintained that their layoff decisions fall outside Congress' intended scope.
For State Department employees who received July notices, the outcome is now final. Those eligible for severance will receive lump-sum payments on Jan. 1, 2026.
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