For Immediate Release
June 25, 2025
Contact: Communications Director Nikki Gamer | Cell #: (978) 884-0003 | gamer@afsa.org

Washington, D.C. – The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) urgently calls on the Department of State to comply with a federal court order that prohibits federal agencies from executing mass layoffs while litigation is ongoing.

“Sources inside the department tell us that layoffs will be announced as soon as the end of this week or early next week,” AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi said. “Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, the department is legally barred from taking any action outlined in its reorganization plans.”

A June 13 order in AFGE, et al. v. Trump, et al., No. 3:25-cv-03698 (N.D. Cal.) prohibits implementation of the State Department’s April 22 reorganization plan. The court's injunction explicitly forbids actions related to these plans while the case proceeds.

AFSA is particularly alarmed that these potential reductions in force (RIFs) follow the State Department's unilateral changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), made without agreement from AFSA. While the Secretary of State holds legal authority to implement RIFs, long-standing procedures were based on a transparent, merit-based process that ranked employees globally. The department's recent changes bypass these norms, penalizing employees based solely on their current domestic assignments.

“The previous regulations were the product of a longtime collaboration between AFSA and the department,” Yazdgerdi said. “However, the new changes were implemented hastily, disregarding the Foreign Service’s unique structure as a globally mobile workforce.”

AFSA has pledged to use every legal tool available to protect its members from arbitrary and unfair treatment.

“What we are hearing about the planned layoffs would constitute a serious breach of the rule of law,” Yazdgerdi said. “This not only threatens the integrity of the Foreign Service but also undermines the effectiveness of U.S. diplomacy.”

The forthcoming cuts come at a time when the Foreign Service is under-resourced and stretched thin. Further reductions would compromise America’s foreign policy capacity at a time of mounting global challenges. According to estimates, about a quarter of the Foreign Service workforce has been reduced since January through early retirements, agency closures, and strategic buyouts.

“The Secretary of State and this administration are seemingly choosing a path that causes maximum harm to a large portion of the Foreign Service and their families,” Yazdgerdi said. “RIFs should be a last resort. Disrupting the Foreign Service like this puts national interests at risk—and Americans everywhere will bear the consequences.”

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is the professional association and labor union of the men and women of the United States Foreign Service.