WASHINGTON — Metro will eliminate 500 positions its general manager said are redundant or are “no longer critical to Metro’s business interests.”

Metro General Manger Paul J. Wiedefeld wrote in a memo to senior management at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority that the positions will be eliminated over the next several months.

“In order to operate in a businesslike manner and achieve cost savings as we enter FY17 on July 1, and to prepare for the FY18 operating budget, positions must be eliminated. I have have directed the elimination of a total of about 500 positions over the next several months,” Wiedefeld wrote in the June 27 memo.

“Effective today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMBS)will provide department heads with a list of non-safety critical, non-essential vacant positions that are being eliminated.”

WMATA’s Human Resources is revising Metro’s policies and processes. Human Resources will work with department heads to notify the affected employees.

“While I recognize that it will take several months to complete those processes, it is important that we give employees as much notice as possible, as well as work to maximized cost savings from redundant and non-essential business functions,” Wiedefeld wrote.