State follows downsizing by recruiting fresh foreign service personnel

State Department Hires New Foreign Service Officers Amidst Layoffs

The State Department is onboarding a new class of foreign service officers later this month, despite laying off 1,350 employees in recent times. This move has raised questions among current and laid-off staff about the necessity of the cuts and the efficiency of the hiring process.

Under President Biden, the foreign service grew by 6% at State, with the department last year bringing on its largest class size ever at 235. However, this growth was not without its challenges. The State Department issued reduction-in-force (RIF) notices to 1,350 employees, including 250 foreign service officers (FSOs).

The approach of firing 250 FSOs and then hiring new ones is considered inefficient and wasteful government spending by a laid-off FSO. A current State employee described the optics of the hiring as terrible. An impacted FSO views the new hiring as a lack of consistent thinking.

The State Department's reorganization was meant to refocus its mission on core objectives and modern needs. However, the manner in which the layoffs were executed has left a sour taste among the affected employees. Some of the laid-off FSOs have since been awarded promotions for outstanding performance, despite their RIFs remaining in effect.

The German federal government, too, has faced similar controversies. Less than 10 weeks after dismissing several hundred foreign service personnel at the Foreign Office due to bureaucratic excess, the government made the decision to resume hiring new civil servants.

The departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor have also rescinded layoffs to fill staffing needs. Meanwhile, other agencies such as the Agriculture Department, Justice Department, Social Security Administration, and others have moved employees around to ensure continuity of critical functions.

The orientation class for the new foreign service officers will begin on Sept. 22. The State Department issued a comment that it welcomes a new class of foreign service officers, calling the process standard. Most foreign service officers work as generalists, moving from one role and location to the next every few years.

The Trump administration welcomed another cohort of 104 foreign service personnel in May. The approach of the Trump administration to usher hundreds of thousands of employees out of government since January is being unwound by some agencies, but the impact on the morale and efficiency of these institutions remains to be seen.