More than 1,300 employees were forced out of the State Department on Friday, taking with them decades of specialized skills and on-the-job training.

A rally is expected, with supporters “clapping out” departing State Department employees and protesting the layoffs at 4 p.m. Friday.

The State Department began to lay off more than 1,300 employees on Friday, including diplomats and career civil servants, according to multiple reports. The Trump administration was widely anticipated to trim the department,