US IRS prepares to lay off thousands of workers, sources say
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The IRS plans to lay off thousands of workers in the coming days, potentially straining resources during tax season, according to sources.
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President Donald Trump speaks before Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is sworn in as Health and Human Services Secretary in the Oval Office at the White House, on February 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
The US Internal Revenue Service is set to lay off thousands of employees in the coming days, potentially straining the agency’s resources during the crucial tax-filing period, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees federal hiring, directed all agencies to terminate their relatively new probationary employees on Thursday. These employees lack full job protections.
The precise number of IRS employees facing termination is unclear, but the agency's workforce grew to about 100,000 under former President Joe Biden, including roughly 16,000 probationary workers. Biden had sought to enhance the IRS’s capabilities, particularly in auditing large corporations and wealthy individuals.
According to Reuters, which cited a source familiar with the matter, the layoffs will affect all probationary employees who neither resigned under a recently closed buyout program nor were deemed essential for the ongoing tax season, which is approaching the April 15 federal filing deadline.
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Even after the deadline, the IRS continues to handle a high volume of work, processing tax returns and issuing refunds to taxpayers.
First reported by The New York Times, the IRS layoffs are part of a broader initiative led by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to restructure the federal government, which they claim is overly large and inefficient.
The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another source familiar with the upcoming layoffs shared concerns regarding the cuts that could be implemented without regard for their potential impact on the agency's operations. "They are trying to reduce numbers across the board with no analysis to the impact it will have on operations," the second source said.
Trump, Musk cut 9,500+ federal jobs
On Friday, Reuters reported that thousands of federal employees across multiple US government agencies have been dismissed as part of Trump's sweeping effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy—a campaign spearheaded by Musk.
The cuts, affecting departments responsible for nuclear security, public lands, and health programs, have already resulted in the loss of more than 9,500 jobs in the past week, with additional layoffs expected.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has been significantly affected, with between 1,200 and 2,000 employees dismissed, including hundreds working in the division that oversees the nation's nuclear stockpile.
The Department of the Interior has also seen substantial reductions, with 2,300 workers fired, impacting oversight of 500 million acres of public land, national parks, and offshore oil and gas leasing programs. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lost nearly one-third of its staff, approximately 1,300 employees, raising concerns about the country's ability to respond to public health emergencies.
Additional dismissals took place at the Departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Education, and the Small Business Administration, with further cuts expected in regulatory agencies that oversee finance and industry.
