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The job cuts will begin with the IRS Office of Civil Rights and
Compliance, which would be reduced by 75% through layoffs, and
its remaining workers would be absorbed into the agency’s Office
of Chief Counsel, according to those two people as well as a
third person familiar with the matter. Fewer than 200 people
work in the Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, formerly
known as the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
The three people spoke on the condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to disclose the plans. The Washington
Post first reported on Friday's layoffs at the IRS, which
collects revenue and enforces tax laws.
The workforce reductions are part of the Trump administration’s
efforts to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy through
billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The
administration has closed agencies, laid off probationary
employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and
offered buyouts through a “deferred resignation program.”
A Treasury spokesperson who spoke on the condition of anonymity
to preview Treasury plans said Friday that any staffing
reductions are part of larger process improvements and tech
innovations that will allow the IRS to operate more effectively.
Rolling back Biden-era hiring and consolidating support
functions are intended to more efficiently serve the public, the
spokesperson said in a statement.
The IRS started workforce reductions in February. Roughly 7,000
probationary employees with one year or less of service at the
agency were notified they would lose their jobs.
However, a federal judge recently ordered those workers to be
reinstated.
In March, IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were
told they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the
Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline of
April 15.
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