US State Department to cut workforce by 9% - Bloomberg

US State Department plans to cut 2300 US diplomats and civil servants - about 9% of the Americans in its workforce worldwide - as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presses ahead with his task of slashing the agency’s budget, according to people familiar with the matter.

The majority of the job cuts, about 1700, will come through attrition, while the remaining 600 will be done via buyouts, Bloomberg reported with reference to sources.

Tillerson was taken aback when he arrived on the job to see how much money the State Department was spending on housing and schooling for the families of diplomats living overseas, according to one person familiar with his thinking.