Staff At US Embassies Face Job Losses Amidst Trump Overhaul
US embassies worldwide employ both diplomats and local staff, with the majority of personnel coming from the host country, according to the National Museum of American Diplomacy.
Marvin Chege 
United States (US) embassies across the world have been asked to prepare for reductions in the number of staff amidst President Donald Trump's plans to overhaul the US diplomatic corps.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that certain embassies have been instructed to explore a 10 per cent reduction in both U.S. staff and locally hired employees. A list of the affected workforce is expected to be submitted to the State Department by Friday, February 14, after which further decisions will be made.
US embassies worldwide employ both diplomats and local staff, with the majority of personnel coming from the host country, according to the National Museum of American Diplomacy.
This means that if the US Embassy in Nairobi is affected by the directive, for example, scores of Kenyans working there could face job losses in a country already grappling with an unemployment crisis.
US President-elect, Donald Trump. /ASSOCIATED PRESS
ABC News was the first to report that US embassies had been directed to begin planning for staff cuts. In response, the State Department stated that it does not comment on internal personnel matters.
"The State Department continues to assess our global posture to ensure we are best positioned to address modern challenges on behalf of the American people," a spokesperson stated.
Meanwhile, a US official revealed that approximately 60 contractors at the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor had been laid off in recent weeks, with the possibility of further reductions in other bureaus.
These actions come as Trump seeks to reshape the diplomatic corps, issuing an executive order on Wednesday, February 11 directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to overhaul the foreign service to ensure the "faithful and effective implementation" of his foreign policy agenda.
The order, which follows efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, is part of Trump's broader push to align U.S. foreign policy with his "America First" vision. He has also repeatedly vowed to "clean out the deep state" by dismissing bureaucrats he considers disloyal.
Titled One Voice for America's Foreign Relations, the order states that failure to implement the president's agenda could lead to professional disciplinary action, including termination. "The Secretary must maintain an exceptional workforce of patriots to implement this policy effectively," the order read.
The order also calls for a possible overhaul of the Foreign Affairs Manual, a detailed collection of policies and procedures that govern the State Department's operations both domestically and internationally.
Meanwhile, Trump's government is yet to appoint a substantive US Ambassador to Kenya following the resignation of Meg Whitman on November 13, 2024, days after Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States (POTUS) in the 2024 elections.
Whitman's move to step down followed massive pressure on social media for her to resign following Trump's showing during the 2024 presidential elections, though some saw this as a tall order given her past Republican ties as Trump was elected US president on a Republican ticket on November 6, 2024.
Chargé d'Affaires Marc Dillard is currently filling the position pending a substantive replacement by the US government. A member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, Dillard has served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Nairobi since August 2022.
