'Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency's mission-critical needs'
Several hundred employees of the Federal Aviation Administration have been laid off by the Trump administration in a move a union slammed as "unconscionable" in the wake of the deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) revealed last week that several hundred probationary employees at the FAA received messages last Friday notifying them of their termination from the administration.
The messages were sent from an "exec order" Microsoft email address and not an official .gov email address, according to PASS national president David Spero.
"Messages began arriving after 7 pm ET on February 14 and continued late into the night," Spero said in a statement released on Saturday. "It is possible that others will be notified over the weekend or literally barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday, February 18."
The layoffs at the FAA reflect Trump's latest sweeping efforts to shrink the federal workforce by ordering agencies to cut nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection, The Guardian reported.
It follows the US president's latest executive order telling agency heads to prepare for "large-scale reductions in force."
PASS slammed Trump's actions as "shameful."
"These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, friends and neighbours. They contribute to our communities. Many military veterans are among them," Spero said. "It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans."
According to the PASS president, the move to lay off employees did not focus on mission-critical needs and was harmful to the workforce.
"This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin," Spero warned. "This decision did not consider the staffing needs of the FAA, which is already challenged by understaffing."
The layoffs also come in the wake of the deadly plane crashes in the United States in the past month, one of which killed 67 people onboard that Trump blamed on diversity initiatives.
"Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency's mission-critical needs," Spero said. "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."
