Bermuda.

Two top consular officers at the American Consulate on Middle Road in Devonshire will return to Washington and be replaced by a single officer, said deputy principal officer and political officer Mr. Stephen Kish.

Mr. Kish is to leave the Island in mid-July, along with his wife Mrs. Marie Kish, who is the consulate's administrative officer.

Due to budget cutbacks, a single officer will replace them, Mr. Kish said. He is Mr. Bruce Berton, now in the executive office of the State Department's European Bureau in Washington.

The lost job is one of 500 State Department jobs being cut around the world, Mr. Kish told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Secretary of State Mr. Warren Christopher's plan to cut jobs is expected to save millions and is designed to head off a more sweeping reform proposed by Republicans.

Mr. Kish said an earlier cut that affected Bermuda was replacement of the consulate's foreign service secretary, who had been sent from Washington, with an American citizen hired locally.

Since housing does not have to be provided, as well as for other reasons, it is "much more cost-effective to hire someone locally,'' though consular officers must still be American citizens for security reasons, Mr. Kish said.

A political/economic assistant -- who again must be American -- will be hired locally for $27,950 per year to assist Mr. Berton, Mr. Kish said. An advertisement for the post appeared in The Royal Gazette this week.

"We still need a person to deal with political issues,'' Mr. Kish said. The assistant's duties are to include "writing daily summaries of important local press articles, notetaking at official meetings, and drafting of reports,'' according to the ad.

Once all the changes are made, the consulate will still have about a dozen employees, Mr. Kish said. But there will be three consular officers working with Consul General Mr. Bob Farmer, down from four.

He did not expect further cutbacks in the near future.

Mr. Christopher's plan is to cut managerial staff in State Department headquarters by ten percent, close about 20 overseas posts, and save about $50 million a year from the $21-billion US foreign affairs budget.