WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is currently formulating a significant workforce reduction plan that could potentially decrease its employees by up to 50%. This development comes amid initiatives to reduce the size of the federal government under the Trump administration. Despite the sensitive nature of these discussions, two individuals privy to the situation have disclosed these details while requesting anonymity, as they lack official authorization to disseminate this information.
This large-scale retrenching is a component of the broader governmental strategy aimed at streamlining the federal workforce. The administration is pursuing this by closing down certain agencies, trimming down nearly all probationary staff who have yet to secure civil service status, and presenting buyout options through a program designed to encourage deferred resignations. This rapid reduction proposal has raised concerns about its potential impact on the IRS, which could risk becoming “dysfunctional,” as termed by John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner.
Currently, the IRS is comprised of approximately 90,000 employees across the nation, as per recent data. The demographic composition of the IRS workforce includes a significant representation of minorities, with people of color constituting 56% and women making up 65% of its total staff. Earlier in February, the agency witnessed the termination of about 7,000 probationary employees who had been with the organization for a year or less.
In alignment with the proposed workforce reduction, IRS employees, together with other federal workers, have been offered buyouts under the “deferred resignation program.” However, for those involved in the 2025 tax period, these buyout options will remain unavailable until after the filing deadline in mid-May, as communicated earlier this month.
An additional facet of the Trump administration’s plan involves reallocating IRS employees to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with immigration enforcement tasks. In February, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem formally requested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to loan IRS personnel to aid in ongoing immigration enforcement efforts.
Speaking through the New York Times, John Koskinen, alongside six former IRS commissioners, expressed concern regarding these proposed budget cuts: “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.”
A directive issued by the White House in late February instructed federal agencies to draft reports outlining their workforce reduction strategies by March 13. However, uncertainties remain over whether the IRS’s reformation plan will gain White House approval or the anticipated timeline for its implementation.
Currently, the White House, the Treasury Department, and the IRS have not offered any comments concerning this matter. The initial report on these deliberations appeared in the New York Times.
