IRS drafts plans to cut up to half its 90,000-person workforce, sources say
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- 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.
- Cutting tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS “dysfunctional,” said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner.
WASHINGTON — 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 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 about 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%.
The Trump administration is firing employees at the Bureau of Reclamation, drawing concerns from California water agencies that depend on it to deliver supplies.
Already, roughly 7,000 probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service were laid off from the organization in February.
The organization also offered its 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 recently that they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer 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, Homeland Security 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 last 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, Treasury Department and IRS did not respond to a request for comment. The New York Times first reported the deliberations.
Hussein writes for the Associated Press.
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