WASHINGTON (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.

The U.S. State Department fired more than 1,300 employees on Friday. The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s plan to reduce the size of the federal government. The firings include the remaining employees working on global climate talks.