By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Around 4,000 employees of the U.S. Transportation Department have applied to take a new buyout offer that offers pay and benefits through Sept. 30, a department official told Reuters.

The figure is not final because it may include employees who are not eligible or some who sent more than one email seeking the buyout, the official said.

The offer, made last week, exempts public safety positions such as Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and aviation safety inspectors as well as railroad safety inspectors, pipeline and hazardous materials safety inspectors and cybersecurity employees.

The Transportation Department has around 57,000 employees, according to a government website.

In February, about 75,000 federal employees across the government accepted buyout offers in the first round of the program led by Elon Musk’s DOGE team, which has been tasked with cutting the size of the federal workforce.

It is not clear how many Transportation Department employees took part in the first offer.

More than a dozen other federal agencies have offered second chances for employees to take the offer in recent weeks.

Other positions exempted include U.S. Merchant Marine Academy staff and jobs supporting the maintenance and operations of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway locks, and motor carrier safety specialists.

The Trump administration came under fire for initially offering buyouts to air traffic controllers and other safety workers - when in fact there are serious shortages of those workers - but it later reversed course. The FAA wants to hire 2,000 air traffic controller trainees this year.

The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent agency that investigates transportation accidents, said last week it did not submit a reduction-in-force plan.