FAA fires fewer than 400 workers, transportation chief says

The Federal Aviation Administration fired fewer than 400 employees out of its workforce of 45,000, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Monday, as questions rise around air traffic safety amid a spate of recent plane accidents.

Duffy posted the number of layoffs in a social media post message on X, formerly known as Twitter, responding to a post by his Democratic predecessor Pete Buttigieg, who has been critical of the Trump administration's Department of Transportation.

"Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go," Duffy wrote on Monday.