Trump administration set to lay off 15,000 IRS employees

The Trump administration is evaluating up to 15,000 layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). After the agency grew in budget and employees during Joe Biden's time in the Oval Office, the new Republican administration is taking a cutback approach in the federal government that would affect the IRS.

As reported by The New York Times, a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was spotted at IRS headquarters in recent days, further ramping up speculation about the layoffs.

According to an order from the Office of Personnel Management, which handles human resources in the federal government, agencies were ordered to lay off probationary employees. Although the number is not yet confirmed, it could eventually affect as many as 15,000 people at the IRS.

"About 15,000 IRS employees have been identified for possible termination as early as next week as the White House seeks to find cost savings across the government," noted from ABC.

As for the goal of cutting Federal Government staff, the Trump administration hopes to reduce the workforce by 5% to 10% through a deferred resignation program, inspired in part by the layoff initiative that had been implemented by Elon Musk at the time of acquiring Twitter, now rebranded as X.