The Trump administration is firing hundreds of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration, cutting off a huge chunk of staff just weeks after personnel shortages were cited as a factor in the deadly mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last month.
David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, said that the first termination emails were sent to probationary workers late Friday night. According to Spero, hundreds of employees received notifications informing them that their jobs had been terminated. Since taking office in January, Donald Trump and his close ally Elon Musk and his DOGE have aggressively downsized the federal workforce in an effort to cut costs.
FAA Gets Targeted by DOGE
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However, some of their decisions have backfired, raising concerns about public security. For instance, the administration had to quickly rehire Energy Department employees after realizing they were responsible for maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons stockpiles.
On Thursday, the administration expanded its efforts to focus on probationary employees, who have fewer job protections.
An air traffic controller told the Associated Press that the FAA layoffs affected staff responsible for radar operations, landing systems, and navigational aid maintenance.
According to Spero, termination emails started arriving after 7 p.m. on Friday. “We are troubled and disappointed by the administration’s decision to fire FAA probationary employees PASS represents without cause nor based on performance or conduct,” he said.
“Several hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address, not an official .gov email address.”
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An FAA employee claimed he was targeted because of remarks he had made about Musk’s companies. “Before I was fired, the official DOGE Facebook page started harassing me on my personal Facebook account after I criticized Tesla and Twitter,” Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander wrote on LinkedIn, describing how he was fired after midnight on Saturday.
“Less than a week later, I was fired, despite my position allegedly being exempted due to national security.”
All for a Better America
The layoffs come at a crucial time for the FAA, which was already struggling with a shortage of air traffic controllers. For years, experts have warned that exhausted and understaffed air traffic control systems posed a serious risk of disaster.
Just last month, a collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet claimed 67 lives.
The exact cause remains under investigation, but initial reports indicated that staffing levels were below normal, with a single controller managing both helicopter and airline traffic at the airport.
A few days later, a medical jet crashed in Philadelphia, killing all six people on board.
Spero highlighted the devastating impact of abruptly dismissing so many workers. “These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our communities,” he said.
“Many military veterans are among them. It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans.”
