Trump administration officials have defended the mass dismissals, saying they are overdue and necessary to make the department leaner and more efficient. Among the employees laid off are more than 100 people who worked in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is self-funded from passport and visa fees.

The mass firing of State Department employees could significantly impact the Trump administration’s ability to address the priorities it has said it values, multiple former and current department officials told CNN.

The involuntary staff reductions include 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service employees, according to a notice sent to employees Friday morning.

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - The State Department began firing more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad.

The department has begun sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with assignments in the United States.

Important new reporting from Puck’s Julia Ioffe reveals what America's bruised diplomats really think of their boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. With the Trump administration’s cuts hitting the State Department,

No State Department official publicly said when the first notices for the planned layoffs would be sent, but the widespread expectation is for the terminations to start as soon as Friday.

As part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government, at least 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers have had their positions terminated, CNN reported.