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DRAINING THE SWAMP: Laid Off Staffers Filmed Crying as State Department Cuts Over 1,300 Bureaucrats (VIDEOS)

The State Department began laying off more than 1,300 employees on Friday as part of a sweeping reorganization aimed at reducing waste and eliminating redundancy.

The layoffs, which began on Friday, resulted in the elimination of 1,107 civil service worker positions and 246 foreign service officer positions, according to internal notices obtained by multiple outlets.

In all, 1,353 positions were eliminated in this initial wave, with officials signaling that this is only the beginning of a larger effort to cut as many as 3,000 jobs.

According to a report from the New York Post, “Employees began receiving termination notices in the morning informing them that their positions were being ‘abolished.’”

“Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices,” a message sent to the fired staffers said.

“By afternoon, several laid-off staffers were spotted tearfully departing the State Department’s headquarters. They were met by a crowd of clapping supporters outside the Harry S. Truman Building, near the White House,” the Post report continued. “Affected foreign service officers will be placed on administrative leave for 120 days before officially losing their jobs. The separation period for civil servants will be 60 days.”

Videos of the tearful and dramatic departures were posted to social media.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the layoffs will make the department “more efficient and more focused.”

“It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions,” Rubio said while speaking to the press on Thursday. “Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people.”

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