Amtrak’s 18,000 workers to receive $900 bonuses, funded by executive cuts

More than 18,000 Amtrak workers will receive a $900 bonus before the end of the year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Thursday evening.

Funding for the bonuses will come from Amtrak’s executive leadership team bonus packages, the statement said. The federal administration urged executive leadership “to forgo 50% of the bonus packages that would have been paid out under the misplaced priorities of the previous executive bonus structure.”

Amtrak set all-time records for both ridership and revenue in the 2025 fiscal year, according to its annual report, with over $2.7 billion in ticket revenue from 34.5 million riders.

The bonuses were applauded by some unions representing train workers.

“End-of-year bonuses will now go to 18,000 front-line workers rather than being limited to the executive ranks. This long-overdue recognition of the employees who keep the railroad moving is a step in the right direction,” Mark Wallace, the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National union, said in a statement.

The announcement comes amid ongoing controversy over the Trump administration’s decision to limit $10,000 bonuses to air traffic controllers and technicians who had perfect attendance during the government shutdown — a measure that rewarded only 776 people, and left nearly 20,000 other workers without the payment.

The disparity was blasted by air traffic controller unions at the time of the announcement in November.

“We are concerned that thousands of air traffic controllers who consistently reported for duty during the shutdown, ensuring the safe transport of passengers and cargo across the nation, while working without pay and uncertain of when they would receive compensation, were excluded from this recognition,” the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union said in a statement.