DOT Reportedly Urges Employees to Reconsider Acceptance of the Second "Deferred Resignation" Offer

According to news reports, so many employees elected to resign during the Department of Transportation's (DOT) second "deferred resignation" offer that the agency urged some employees to reconsider. The second deferred resignation offer was made on April 1, 2025. Roughly 4,700 employees, about 9 percent of the department, were initially reported to have opted in, compared with about 1,100 in the government-wide first round; air traffic controllers and railroad safety inspectors were excluded from eligibility. Secretary Sean Duffy told employees at a May 2025 town hall that the department would conduct reductions in force at the end of May, but litigation paused the layoff plans and the department-wide RIF was not carried out. By July 2025, departmental data showed 4,127 employees had left through the resignation offers.