IRS to Lay Off 25% of Staff as Agency Prepares for Permanent Disbandment

The IRS is slashing 25% of its workforce—around 20,000 employees—as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the agency permanently. This drastic cut, reported by Fox News late Friday, follows a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) probe into waste and fraud that began nearly two months ago at IRS headquarters, signaling the end of a bloated bureaucracy.

The layoffs, set to start Friday and continue through next week, mark a seismic shift for the federal agency. Initiated after DOGE officials targeted inefficiencies and corruption, this reduction is a key step in streamlining operations as the administration prepares to shutter the IRS for good.

Discernreport.com reports: Most job cuts will center around the IRS Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, which protects taxpayers from discrimination, audits, and investigations.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Fox News, “In a stark contrast to the previous administration’s wildly unpopular plan to hire thousands of additional IRS agents, President Trump is focused on saving tax dollars, eliminating bloat, axing useless DEI offices, and increasing the agency’s efficiency.”

Here’s more from Fox:

In addition to the layoffs, the agency said in a letter to employees that it is eliminating its Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, which is responsible for protecting taxpayers from discrimination, audits and investigations.

. . .

“This action is being taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS in accordance with agency priorities and the Workforce Optimization Initiative outlined in a recent Executive Order,” the letter states, referring to President Donald Trump’s executive order directing the Department of Government Efficiency to get rid of wasteful spending.

The agency said it was approved to offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP). Information about those programs will be shared with employees at a later date, the message said.

“This calendar year to date, approximately 5% of this office left through the Deferred Resignation Program and attrition,” the message said. “An additional 75% of the office will be reduced through a RIF (Reduction in Force).”

A Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News, “The rollback of wasteful Biden-era hiring surges and consolidation of critical support functions are vital to improving both efficiency and quality of service. ” The spokesperson added, “The Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve.”

Last week, the latest Challenger tracking data showed that DOGE-related layoffs have topped 280,253 across 27 agencies.

Meet the largest individual taxpayer in IRS history…

DOGE is now auditing the IRS to identify waste, abuse, and fraud.

The IRS will now explain how it spent over $10 billion in taxes paid by Elon Musk, making him the largest individual taxpayer in history. pic.twitter.com/lBx4Uo7tqi

— SMX 🇺🇸 (@iam_smx) February 17, 2025