The government has taken drastic action against unidentified workers, terminating jobs across the entire agency including front-line security officers, management, administrative, and professional employees. According to a spokesperson, the TSA screened a record high of 904 million passengers in 2024, which marked a 5% increase from 2023.
There have been disputes regarding the “performance” language in the termination notices of probationary workers who were recently let go from other federal departments. Many workers claim they were not informed of any performance issues prior to their dismissals. This controversy follows the termination of nearly 400 support staff employees at the Federal Aviation Administration last weekend, which included environmental compliance workers, aeronautical information specialists, and maintenance mechanics.
Notably, FAA technicians, aviation safety inspectors, and air traffic controllers were exempt from the recent firings. TSA workers were also excluded from a buyout program offered by President Trump to most federal employees for their immediate resignations, with over 75,000 federal workers accepting the buyouts.
Under the guidance of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has been aggressively firing probationary workers across various federal departments and agencies with the aim of significantly reducing the size of the government. The exact number of layoffs is estimated to be in the tens of thousands, however, the White House has not provided a government-wide total despite numerous requests.
This information was originally reported by USA TODAY and Reuters. For more details, contact Joey Garrison at X @joeygarrison.
