The DOT might’ve hit the gas a little too hard on its latest round of voluntary resignations.

In early April, the department gave employees another shot at the “deferred resignation” deal: Stay on the payroll with benefits through September, then walk away. The goal? Trim the fat, boost efficiency, and save taxpayer dollars. But the plan may have worked too well.

Roughly 4,700 employees across the agency – nearly 9% of DOT’s 55,000-strong workforce – jumped at the offer. That number caught leadership off guard, Politico shared. Now, HR reps are reportedly reaching out to some of them and asking, “Are you sure about this?”

“It’s a [curse] show, honestly. I feel for HR because this is a mess they didn’t create,” said one employee, summing up the situation with a “choice” phrase.

DOT officials claim the number sits closer to 4,000 and stress they’ve kept safety-critical staff, like air traffic controllers, out of the program. They also insist their teams have enough overlap to keep operations steady, despite the exits.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which makes up most of DOT’s workforce, hasn’t shared how many of its people opted out. The agency’s still dealing with the fallout from a deadly January crash involving a commercial jet and a military helicopter.

Back in February, over 1,100 workers, including around 700 from the FAA, took the first resignation offer.

This whole effort comes from the Trump administration’s broader push to cut federal staffing, with help from Elon Musk’s DOGE cost-cutting crew. DOT submitted its layoff blueprint to OPM and OMB in March, but hasn’t pulled the trigger on a full reduction-in-force yet.

Looks like at this point, too many people saw the exit ramp and took it. Now, DOT’s trying to wave a few of them back into the lane.