The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has laid off 4% of its staff as part of a government-wide reduction of probationary employees, a spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
The agency, responsible for automotive safety regulations, said the layoffs were part of broader changes but insisted that critical positions remain intact to continue its mission of saving lives and enforcing road safety laws.
NHTSA said it is still larger than before. Under President Biden, NHTSA expanded by 30%, growing to around 800 employees before the recent layoffs.
“We have retained positions critical to the mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic costs due to road traffic crashes,” NHTSA told Insurance Journal.
Ongoing Tesla investigations
NHTSA is currently investigating multiple safety concerns related to Tesla, the electric car company led by Trump's adviser Elon Musk. The probes include:
- An October 2023 investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, following reports of four crashes, including a fatal one in 2023.
- A January 2024 probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles over concerns related to a feature that allows users to remotely move their cars, which has been linked to multiple crashes.
In December 2023, Tesla issued a recall of over two million U.S. vehicles to add new safety measures in its Autopilot driver-assistance system. However, NHTSA is still reviewing whether the recall adequately addresses safety concerns.
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