The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that the Trump Administration terminated probationary employees last week, emphasizing that the roles were not deemed critical to flight safety. In an agency-wide memo, acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau stated, 'In alignment with the Administration’s goal to make government more efficient, we regrettably had to let go some of our probationary employees last week.' Rocheleau reassured employees that the agency retained staff responsible for safety critical functions.
However, the head of the union representing the terminated workers, who were involved in maintaining air traffic control systems, flight and route maps, and procedures, argued that these positions were crucial for flight safety. David Spero, head of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, expressed concern, stating, 'They were critical to the front-line safety people. This destroys the aviation ecosystem.'
Late Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy disclosed that fewer than 400 of the FAA's 45,000 total employees were let go, all of whom were probationary employees hired less than a year ago.
