Trump news at a glance: state department plans mass layoffs in line with president’s ‘America First’ policy

Nearly 15% of domestic workforce to be let go in major restructuring of diplomatic corps - key US politics stories from Thursday 10 July

The state department has announced that it plans to move forward with mass layoffs as part of the most significant restructuring of America's diplomatic corps in decades. Officials say the cuts will align their mission with Donald Trump's America First" vision.

The layoffs, which are commonly called reductions in force (or RIFs), along with voluntary redundancies, will affect nearly 15% of the state department's domestic staff. A senior department official said that was close to 1,800 people. The restructuring will also see several hundred bureaus merged or eliminated entirely.