The IRS is drafting plans to cut as much as half of its 90,000-person
workforce, AP sources say
[March 05, 2025]
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as
much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized
buyouts, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The people spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t
authorized to disclose the plans.
The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the
size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk's Department
of Government Efficiency by closing agencies, laying off nearly all
probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection
and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees through a “deferred
resignation program” to quickly reduce the government workforce.
A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the
IRS “dysfunctional,” said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner.
The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers total across
the United States, according to the latest IRS data. People of color
make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%.
Already, roughly 7,000 probationary IRS employees with roughly one year
or less of service were laid off from the organization in February.
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The organization also offered IRS employees — along with almost all
federal employees across the government — “deferred resignation
program” buyouts, though IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax
season were told earlier this month that they would not be allowed
to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until
mid-May, after the taxpayer filing deadline.
In addition to the planned layoffs, the Trump administration intends
to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist
with immigration enforcement. In a letter sent in February, DHS
Secretary Kristi Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to
borrow IRS workers to help with ongoing immigration crackdown
efforts.
Koskinen and six other former IRS Commissioners wrote in the New
York Times earlier this month: “Aggressive reductions in the
I.R.S.’s resources will only render our government less effective
and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed.”
According to a White House memo sent to federal agencies in late
February, agencies are to develop a report by March 13 on its
reduction in force plans — but it is unclear whether the White House
will approve the IRS’ reorganization plan and over what period of
time it would be implemented.
Representatives for the White House, the Treasury Department and IRS
did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment. The New
York Times first reported the deliberations.
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