‘Several Hundred’ FAA Employees Fired By Trump Administration

The Trump administration has fired “several hundred” probationary employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said probationary workers received emails Friday notifying them of their termination.

JUST IN: Hundreds of FAA probationary workers fired by Trump administrative – CNN pic.twitter.com/WHBmpmDEpH

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 17, 2025

From the Associated Press:

The impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told the Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement Monday it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members.”

Other FAA employees who were fired were working on an urgent and classified early warning radar system the Air Force had announced in 2023 for Hawaii to detect incoming cruise missiles, through a program that was in part funded by the Department of Defense. It’s one of several programs that the FAA’s National Defense Program manages that involve radars providing longer-range detection around the country’s borders.

Firings affected several hundred workers responsible for maintaining FAA radar, landing systems and navigational aids. https://t.co/S3na81pnL1

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) February 17, 2025

Hundreds of FAA employees fired by Trump administration https://t.co/5WnHv9fGbP

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) February 17, 2025

Per CNN:

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have upended the federal workforce, firing top officials and convincing 77,000 workers to voluntarily leave their jobs through a deferred resignation offer. The administration on Thursday broadened its effort to terminate thousands of probationary workers, instructing agencies on a call to move forward with the layoffs.

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Officials have set their sights on probationary workers, who have typically been employed for less than a year, because they have fewer job protections and lack the right to appeal. More than 200,000 employees have worked within the federal government for less than a year, according to the most recent 2024 data from the US Office of Personnel Management.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, or PASS, said it represents more than 11,000 FAA and Department of Defense workers who install, inspect and maintain air traffic control communications, radio and computer systems, as well as develop new flight procedures.

“Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency’s mission-critical needs,” said David Spero, national president of PASS. “To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety. And it is especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.”

The firings did not include air traffic controllers, who are in short supply amid a decadeslong staffing shortage.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.