Amtrak has cut 450 jobs after a review of its costs and management structure, a spokesperson for the federally subsidized passenger rail company said, but its major Maryland construction projects are proceeding unimpeded — at least for now.

The “reduction-in-force process” eliminated 250 current positions and closed another 200 open ones that Amtrak had been looking to fill, representing about 10% of its managerial staff, according to a staff memo reviewed by The Baltimore Banner.

The cuts and “other recent cost-saving actions” will save roughly $100 million annually, according to an Amtrak statement.

The cost-cutting comes as questions about Amtrak’s future began swirling when President Donald Trump took office for the second time and members of his administration floated the idea of privatizing its rail service.

The National Railroad Passenger Corp., or Amtrak, was formed in 1971 as a quasi-governmental entity to salvage U.S. passenger rail service as private railroads were losing money and threatening to stop carrying passengers.

Under former President (and well-known Amtrak patron) Joe Biden, the passenger rail service saw big investments in rehabilitation and expansion projects, especially along its busy Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C.

Here in Maryland, federal grants have pumped several billion dollars into construction of the future Frederick Douglass Tunnel, a new two-plus-mile tunnel designed to speed trains under West Baltimore, and plans to replace the aging Susquehanna River bridge in the northeastern part of the state. Work is also underway to restore and expand Baltimore’s Penn Station, though it has proceeded in fits and starts amid its own funding issues.

The future West Baltimore tunnel will replace the roughly 150-year-old B&P Tunnel, a relic of the Civil War-era, that Amtrak spends heaps of money on annually to keep functional. Amtrak officials call it the biggest bottleneck along the Northeast Corridor and in dire need of replacing.

This week’s announcement of job cuts won’t impact the Frederick Douglass Tunnel, an Amtrak spokesperson confirmed, and crews continue to perform preliminary construction work like utility relocation.

In March, billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and mastermind behind the Department of Government Efficiency, called Amtrak service “kind of embarrassing” compared to that in other countries, especially China, and floated the idea of privatizing it. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner abruptly resigned shortly after.

During an interview at the Semafor World Economic Summit last month, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also said Amtrak service was “kind of embarrassing” compared to high-speed rail in the rest of the world. He said there are some “ideas out there we can explore” around public-private partnerships, but that any move to totally privatize Amtrak is a “decision for Congress.”

“We can do a lot better than what we are doing,” Duffy said. “Am I committed to Amtrak or am I committed to great rail service? I’m committed to great rail service.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.