Anticipated job cuts at the Transportation Department scheduled for late May

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a planned reduction in force (RIF) at the end of May, as part of the Trump administration's goal to reduce the federal employee headcount. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made the announcement, and the DOT is focusing on investments in air safety, an issue that has gained increased attention since the January plane collision in Washington, D.C.

In the first round of the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), about 1,100 DOT employees opted in. For the second round, approximately 2,500 employees have signed resignation contracts and are beginning their leave. The DRP allows government workers to receive pay and benefits until Sept. 30 if they agree to resign. Employees who are 40 and older have until May 22 to decide whether to take the offer.

Controllers who are eligible to retire but under the mandatory retirement age of 56 at the DOT will receive a 20% bonus of their basic pay each year that they continue to work. Unlike the U.S. Agency for International Development and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the DOT is not planning to eliminate its agency.

The number of employees who will be let go depends on the participation in the second round of the DRP. The DOT had a little more than 57,000 employees in fiscal 2024, and Secretary Duffy has assured that this practice will not be implemented at the Department of Transportation.

Secretary Duffy intends to ask Congress to fund a new air traffic control system. However, he did not rule out the possibility of future workforce reductions. The DOT is considered the president's "favorite department," and unlike the Agriculture Department, it has no current plans to relocate outside of the Washington, D.C., area.

It's worth noting that the Health and Human Services Department has implemented a layoff process where employees find out about their status as they try to access their offices. The Office of Personnel Management had recommended that agencies give workers 45 days to consider if they wanted to accept the DRP offer in order to comply with anti-age discrimination law.

However, no information about the number of employees at the German Ministry of Transport who could be dismissed as part of a 'second Deferred Resignation Program' at the end of May was found in the available sources.

The story has been updated with information from the Transportation Department.