The Department of Transport is scrambling to retain its staff after thousands volunteered to resign as part of a federal cost-cutting measure, far exceeding expectations.

Around 4,700 people put themselves forward for a second resignation offer, Politico reports, amounting to around nine percent of the agency’s total workforce. The vast majority of offers are said to come from employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has caused further headaches for the department.

“It’s a s--t show, honestly. I feel for HR because this is a mess they didn’t create,” a DOT employee told the publication on condition of anonymity.

While it isn’t clear exactly how many FAA employees are included in the overall figures, any further resignations would be in addition to the 2,000-odd employees who accepted the first offer or were sacked in a mass-firing of federal workers since Donald Trump returned to office.

The program, which provides pay and benefits through September in exchange for voluntary resignation, is part of a broader push by the Trump administration and a cost-cutting team led by Elon Musk to reduce the federal workforce. The Transport Department had initially faced a mid-March deadline to submit a mass layoff plan but has so far avoided implementing one.

Employees had until April 7 to apply for the second round. Whether the final numbers trigger operational disruptions—particularly at the FAA—remains to be seen, but agency spokesmen have offered assurances that the reduction in staff will not compromise safety.

The move comes as the FAA continues to grapple with the aftermath of a deadly plane crash which killed 67 people in January, when a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane.

Mike Blake/Mike Blake/ REUTERS

A department spokesperson told Politico the offer is “just one part of our effort to make DOT more efficient and accountable to the taxpayer,” and that employees who perform critical safety work are exempt. “Our teams are layered with redundancies to ensure efficiency initiatives will not compromise safety,” the spokesperson added, and said the official number of deferred resignations is closer to 4,000.

To make matters worse, employees facing resignation have been forced to attend a series of “career transition” workshops hosted by the agency in an effort to help them “leverage your personal brand” and transition into the private sector, which employees have described as “insulting.”

“It feels like it’s intended to tell us we’re being dramatic or that we’re not professional enough to go through turmoil and remain detached and completely calm. It feels out of touch,” an anonymous employee told Politico on Tuesday.

One example given by the employee included an announcement by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that workers needed to obey a dress code.

“Just feels like another slight against federal workers, honestly,” they added.