Nearly 7,000 employees have just received notice of termination, including many in New York.
A senior IRS official was in tears while announcing the news of nearly 7,000 layoffs.
IRS Cuts Workforce Significantly
According to Reuters, the IRS is laying off 6,700, about 6% of its total workforce. The layoffs come during the agency’s busiest time of the year.
Employees in all states, including New York, will be affected.
This move is part of President Trump’s government downsizing efforts, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Under President Biden, the IRS had expanded its workforce to strengthen audits on corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk, has already cut jobs across multiple sectors, including banking regulators, forest workers, and tens of thousands of other government employees.
Probationary Employees Hit the Hardest
Most of those laid off were IRS employees hired during President Biden’s expansion of the agency.
The cuts mainly target probationary employees as part of the Trump administration’s push to reduce the federal workforce.
A reader said his wife was among those affected because she had not yet completed her probationary period.
“She had just received an excellent performance review too,” he said.
The affected worker stated that she would not receive severance pay. She will only be compensated for unused leave and remaining bonuses.