FAA Fires Around 400 Probationary Employees, Still Faces Staff Shortages

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) fired fewer than 400 probationary employees amid growing concerns over air traffic safety following recent plane crashes.

The Details: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said none of those fired were air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel. According to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, nearly 300 of the terminated employees were maintenance mechanics, aviation safety assistants, and other support personnel. The Associated Press (Left bias) reported that layoffs affected employees responsible for radar, landing, and navigation aid maintenance. The FAA and Department of Transportation have declined to say what jobs those fired had.

For Context: The layoffs come weeks after a midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter killed nearly 70 people near Washington, D.C. The agency’s total workforce is around 45,000. The firings are one of the most recent developments in a series of cuts to federal funding and workforces by the Trump administration.

How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum noted that the FAA is currently understaffed. Reuters (Center) wrote that the agency is currently 3,500 air traffic controllers short of its target. The Daily Beast (Left) wrote that earlier this month Secretary Duffy said “he is ready to let the cost-cutting squad shape a new air traffic control system at ‘the speed of business, not bureaucracy.’” Fox Business (Lean Right) included several perspectives critical of the move, and wrote that Trump already “gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.”