An employee from the Federal Aviation Administration, who was recently part of the extensive layoffs overseen by Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency, has raised concerns about the potentially harmful consequences of these job cuts.
David Spero, the National President of the Professional Aviation Specialists, disclosed on February 15 that 132 new employees at the FAA were informed via email that their employment was being terminated.
In response, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that less than 400 individuals lost their jobs, and none of them were air traffic controllers or essential safety personnel.
Despite the White House’s insistence that the cuts weren’t impacting safety, employees who were fired said that their positions did support the work of air traffic controllers.
‘Air traffic controllers cannot do their work without us,’ an employee impacted by the cuts told Politico.
They worked as an aeronautical information specialist on a team of 12. They told Politico that their team essentially creates ‘highways in the sky’ to map routes that pilots follow and air traffic controllers use.
‘To put it frankly, without our team… pilots would quite literally be flying blind,’ they added. The employee was cited as an anonymous source so they could speak freely about the terminations.
The cuts come just weeks after a collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people.
The Federal Aviation Administration is the latest government agency to loose employees as a result of DOGE’s efforts
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is standing by the recent terminations at the FAA
Elon Musk and DOGE are purging the federal government, which is impacting hundreds of federal workers
Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation safety consultant, emphasized the threat to safety as a result of the cuts, telling the publication that the firings are ‘not going to improve safety,’ adding that they will ‘only increase the risk.’
‘I would argue that every job at the FAA right now is safety critical,’ Guzzetti added.
Spero also sounded the alarm on safety concerns following the firings, writing in his statement, ‘This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin.
‘Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency’s mission-critical needs. To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety,’ he continued.
‘And it is especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.’
In addition to the fatal crash in Washington DC on January 29, a small plane carrying 10 people crashed in Alaska on February 6, and two private jets collided at the Scottsdale Airport on February 10, killing one individual and injuring four.
Four days after Spero issued a statement on the FAA’s firings, two single-engine planes collided again in Arizona, killing two individuals.
The recent plane crashes have put more eyes on the FAA as concern over flying safety looms.
Among those recently fired include employees who repair the buildings where air traffic controllers work, aeronautical information specialists, data assistants, and workers with the Air Traffic Organization’s safety and technical training division, Politico reported.
The Trump administration is steadfast in their support for Musk’s efforts to cut federal spending through DOGE
Duffy joined Vice President JD Vance and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when Trump delivered remarks on a plane crash over Washington DC
An anonymous industry official also told the outlet that there were cuts at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, which is responsible for reviewing the safety of aircraft design standards.
The Flight Standards division also reportedly lost employees, which reviews whether airlines comply with FAA regulations.
Guzzetti told Politico that cutting employees from these sectors will make it more difficult for existing workers to monitor safety standards.
Employees who were working on a warning radar system to detect incoming missiles were also reportedly cut, according to the Associated Press.
The program is with the National Airspace System Defense Program which provides classified flight data to the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.
Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, one of the employees impacted by the cuts, told AP News that he doesn’t even think DOGE knows what the NDP does.
‘This is about protecting national security, and I’m scared to death. And the American public should be scared too,’ he said.
Spitzer-Stadtlander believed he was targeted by Musk’s DOGE after he was critical of him on his personal social media accounts.
Emergency response teams gathered to assess the wreckage after two planes collided killing 67 people while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport
He said that a Facebook account associated with DOGE started harassing him after he criticized Tesla and X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the allegations on X, claiming that the story was ‘fake news.’
‘1. DOGE doesn’t even have a Facebook page 2. No air traffic controllers nor any professionals who perform safety critical functions were terminated,’ she added.
Duffy also defended the terminations on X, claiming that the previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, ‘failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system.’
He added that the cuts only impacted less than 400 ‘probationary’ employees who were not critical safety personnel.
Duffy doubled down in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday, defending the department’s collaboration with Musk.
‘All the critical safety positions like air traffic controllers and inspectors, all of those positions have been protected. No one’s been fired. Actually we were hiring into those spaces. So 352 cuts is 0.8% of the workforce.’
Rescue teams responded to a crash in Alaska where 10 passengers were killed on February 6
Duffy defended the terminations during an interview with CBS News and said that Americans should be assured that it is safe to fly
Recent cuts to hundreds of employees at the FAA has raised safety concerns among lawmakers
The Trump administration has been clear in their support of DOGE’s efforts, however, Democratic lawmakers have been critical of the cuts, with members of Congress demanding that Duffy immediately reverse the decision.
Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote an open letter to the secretary condemning the firings, accusing Duffy of, ‘recklessly cutting aviation safety personnel at a time when many Americans are increasingly concerned about the safety of our national airspace and whether the FAA is up to the job of keeping the flying public safe following a series of deadly accidents.’
A group of 13 senators also drafted a letter to Duffy accusing the FAA of undermining safety.
Dailymail.com reached out to the DOT and FAA for comment on the recent terminations but didn’t immediately hear back.
