Employees at the Department of Transportation are bracing for layoffs, as part of the Trump administration’s effort to cut the federal workforce.
During a town hall meeting last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed DOT employees that the layoffs — referred to as reduction in force, or RIF — are expected soon, DOT officials confirm to CBS News.
An employee attending the town hall said Duffy did not offer specifics about which agencies or employees would be affected. The Department of Transportation said the final number of cuts would depend on how many employees first take a buyout offer.
The cuts could happen as soon as the end of the month.
The buyout offer, referred to as a deferred resignation program, allows workers to receive pay and benefits for several months if they agree to resign. Multiple federal agencies have made large-scale buyout offers as part of President Trump’s effort to dramatically scale back the size of the federal government.
Duffy has promised the DOT’s workforce cuts won’t affect airline safety. Duffy became Transportation Secretary amid two high-profile airline crashes, including a midair collision in January over the Potomac River in Washington that left 67 dead.
On May 1, Duffy announced plans to boost air traffic controller recruiting. The announcement came as Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the country’s largest and busiest hubs, experienced an onslaught of delays and canceled flights.
Blaming staffing shortages, equipment malfunctions and system outages, the DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration issued several ground delays and ground stops at the New Jersey airport.
Arriving flights at the airport, located near New York City, have been delayed as long as six hours, while departures faced nearly four-hour delays. The FAA and the union representing air traffic controllers said Tuesday that multiple members are on trauma leave due to the equipment failure that caused them to lose communication with pilots.
Emmy Award-winning journalist Kris Van Cleave is the senior transportation correspondent for CBS News based in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also serves as a national correspondent reporting for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
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