U.S. to Cut 6,000 Airport Screening Jobs Wed Apr 30, 4:16 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo! WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. will cut 6,000 airport screening jobs -- 11 percent of workers who clear passengers and luggage through security checks -- over the next five months to comply with congressional demands to limit staffing and save money, the Transportation Security Administration said on Wednesday. James Loy, the agency's director, said most of the cuts would come through attrition, but some workers would be let go for performance reasons. Loy said the work force reduction would yield a budget savings of $280 million. There are 55,000 full and part-time screeners at more than 420 U.S. airports. Congress has sought to limit the screener work force to less than 50,000. "While we still live in a dangerous world, it also is time to assess our workplace requirements in relation to budget realities," Loy told reporters at a news conference. "This means looking at the level of screener staffing at every airport, how many are part-time, how many are full-time and whether they are on duty at the right time, when passenger traffic is heaviest," Loy said. The cuts will be accomplished in two phases -- 3,000 by May 31 and another 3,000 by Sept. 30, the end of the government's 2003 fiscal year. Loy said the TSA would evaluate its entire passenger and baggage screening force. Some qualified employees at larger, well-staffed airports will be encouraged to transfer to facilities with personnel shortages. TSA will offer partial relocation assistance. The federal government overhauled passenger and baggage screening at U.S. airports in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., creating a federal work force to replace private screening companies that contracted with airlines.