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So many workers at the Department of Transportation accepted a second deferred resignation offer that officials have been forced to ask some of them to reconsider.
As part of President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-led DOGE’s efforts to slash the federal workforce, the Transportation Department offered employees another opportunity to take a deferred resignation, for which approximately 4,700 people volunteered, according to Politico.
That number, while not final, represents roughly 9 percent of the department’s 55,000-strong workforce. About 45,000 of those work at the Federal Aviation Administration, although it is unclear how many offered to quit that particularly agency.
The high number of employees volunteering to leave in exchange for pay and benefits through September has led some officials to prompt them to “reconsider” the offer, Politico reported.
“It’s a s*** show, honestly,” an unnamed department employee told Politico. “I feel for HR because this is a mess they didn’t create.”
The Independent has reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.
The second round buyout offer was made to make the agency more efficient and to accommodate employees who declined the first round due to confusion, an agency spokesperson told the New York Times in February.
The spokesperson said there was no initial target number and told Politico this week that the actual number of employees taking the buyout offer was closer to just under 4,000.
Anyone leaving after the second round of offers would be on top of some 2,000 employees who either accepted the agency’s first buyout offer, or were let go in the mass-firing of probationary workers.
The reduction in the department’s forces arrives as the FAA is being looked at under a microscope. The tragic January plane crash over Washington, followed by a string of close calls and other accidents, has led to concerns about staffing shortages.
While the department seeks to reduce its forces as a whole, some employees, such as those who work in safety, are exempt from the buyout offer.
Employees had from April 1 to April 7 to accept the offer.
