The U.S. State Department is preparing to shut down nearly a dozen consulates, primarily in Western Europe, and is considering global workforce reductions, multiple U.S. officials said Thursday. The department is also reviewing the potential consolidation of several expert bureaus at its Washington headquarters, including those focused on human rights, refugees, global criminal justice, women’s issues, and anti-human trafficking efforts.
U.S. missions worldwide have been instructed to evaluate staff reductions of at least 10%—affecting both American and locally employed personnel—as part of an aggressive cost-cutting initiative led by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Among the consulates under consideration for closure are Leipzig, Hamburg, and Düsseldorf in Germany; Bordeaux, Rennes, Lyon, and Strasbourg in France; and Florence in Italy. The list also includes U.S. consulates in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Ponta Delgada, Portugal.
Officials also confirmed that the department notified Congress on Monday of its plans to close its branch in Gaziantep, Turkey, a key location for U.S. support of humanitarian efforts in northern Syria.
