Department of Transportation is latest federal agency expecting layoffs

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What's down formation cancellations and delays astatine Newark airport 03:08

Employees astatine the Department of Transportation are bracing for layoffs, arsenic portion of the Trump administration's effort to chopped the federal workforce.

During a municipality hallway gathering past week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed DOT employees that the layoffs — referred to arsenic simplification successful force, oregon RIF — are expected soon, DOT officials corroborate to CBS News.

An worker attending the municipality hallway said Duffy did not connection specifics astir which agencies oregon employees would beryllium affected. The Department of Transportation said the last fig of cuts would beryllium connected however galore employees archetypal instrumentality a buyout offer. 

The cuts could hap arsenic soon arsenic the extremity of the month.  

The buyout offer, referred to arsenic a deferred resignation program, allows workers to person wage and benefits for respective months if they hold to resign. Multiple national agencies person made large-scale buyout offers arsenic portion of President Trump's effort to dramatically standard backmost the size of the national government.

Duffy has promised the DOT's workforce cuts won't impact hose safety. Duffy became Transportation Secretary amid 2 high-profile hose crashes, including a midair collision successful January implicit the Potomac River successful Washington that near 67 dead.

On May 1, Duffy announced plans to boost aerial postulation controller recruiting. The announcement came arsenic Newark Liberty International Airport, 1 of the country's largest and busiest hubs, experienced an onslaught of delays and canceled flights.

Blaming staffing shortages, instrumentality malfunctions and strategy outages, the DOT's Federal Aviation Administration issued respective crushed delays and crushed stops astatine the New Jersey airport. 

Arriving flights astatine the airport, located adjacent New York City, person been delayed arsenic agelong arsenic six hours, portion departures faced astir four-hour delays. The FAA and the national representing aerial postulation controllers said Tuesday that multiple members are connected trauma leave owed to the instrumentality nonaccomplishment that caused them to suffer connection with pilots.