About 22,000 Internal Revenue Service employees have accepted the Trump administration’s latest deferred resignation offer, The New York Times reports.
The agency reportedly had just over 100,000 employees before President Trump returned to office. About 5,000 of those workers have resigned since January and another 7,000 probationary workers were laid off in cuts that have faced legal challenges. If the resignations and layoffs all take effect, the agency would lose about a third of its workforce this year.
That’s not all. The Federal News Network reported Tuesday that, according to an internal agency memo, the IRS is planning to slash up to 40% of its workforce, in part through biweekly Reduction in Force (RIF) notices starting this week. The IRS memo reportedly says that “taxpayer services and compliance will need to be trimmed” and will see a “high” level of cuts in a second phase of job eliminations.
By the time the cuts and layoffs are done, the IRS reportedly plans for staffing to be reduced to between 60,000 and 70,000 employees. Such a sizable reduction is also expected to result in a significant drop in federal revenue collection.
The Treasury Department spokesperson told CNBC that the number of employees leaving the revenue service is “approximately the same” as the number added under former President Joe Biden’s administration, which reportedly added about 20,000 employees at the agency. “The roll back of wasteful Biden-era hiring surges, and consolidation of critical support functions are vital to improve both efficiency and quality of service,” the spokesperson reportedly said.