IRS to Lay Off 7,000 Workers Nationwide
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is set to lay off around 7,000 employees across the U.S. starting Thursday, according to a source from The Associated Press. The layoffs will mainly affect newer employees who have worked for about a year or less. Most of the impacted workers are in compliance roles, which involve making sure taxpayers follow tax laws, file returns, and pay taxes.
Why Are These Layoffs Happening?
The Trump administration is cutting federal jobs as part of a plan to reduce the government workforce. Agencies have been ordered to let go of probationary employees who don’t have full civil service protection.
This decision comes even though IRS employees working on the 2025 tax season were previously told they couldn’t take buyouts until after the tax filing deadline in mid-May.
Impact on Tax Collection
It is unclear how these layoffs will affect tax collection efforts. The IRS had been working to recover $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes from wealthy individuals by the end of 2024.
The IRS currently employs about 90,000 people across the country. According to IRS data:
- 56% of employees belong to racial minority groups.
- 65% of the workforce is made up of women.
IRS Employees to Be Reassigned
The Trump administration also plans to temporarily move some IRS employees to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help with immigration enforcement. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to approve the transfer.
So far, officials from the IRS and U.S. Treasury have not commented on the situation.
