IRS Shake-Up: Why 6, 700 Employees Are Getting The Boot

The IRS is about to say goodbye to 6, 700 employees. This isn't a voluntary goodbye. It's a big, sudden move. The IRS sent out notices to employees in their probationary period. This includes recent graduates, veterans, and specialized auditors. They need to show up at the office tomorrow with all their work stuff. The IRS has even set up a special page on its internal site. It's called “recent workforce updates. ” It's supposed to keep employees in the loop. The IRS is saying that this move is because of an executive order. It's all about following orders from the Trump administration. The order is to fire probationary employees who aren't seen as crucial for the filing season. The IRS has been trying to modernize its technology and improve customer service. They've been working on updating core IRS tech that dates back to the 1960s. The IRS workforce has grown to over 100, 000 employees. This is a big change from the 80, 000 employees at the start of the Biden administration. A brain drain of IRS employees with institutional knowledge will hurt the work to modernize the tax agency. The IRS isn't the only agency where employees are being cut. The Trump administration has started firing thousands of federal employees who are in their probationary periods. These workers have weaker civil service job protections. The terminations come in the midst of the current filing season. Some IRS employees were previously told they could not accept the administration’s “deferred resignation” offers until May 15, after tax season has ended. The IRS is facing a lot of changes. The Trump administration has, in some cases, included longtime government employees that were recently hired or promoted into new positions. The legal rationale for quickly dismissing those workers is less clear. President Trump announced he would replace the existing IRS commissioner, Danny Werfel, with his own choice, former Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo. Long has not yet received a confirmation vote in the Senate, though Werfel stepped down upon Trump’s inauguration. The IRS is facing a lot of changes. The terminations come in the midst of the current filing season. Some IRS employees were previously told they could not accept the administration’s “deferred resignation” offers until May 15, after tax season has ended. The IRS isn't the only agency where employees are being cut. The Trump administration has started firing thousands of federal employees who are in their probationary periods. These workers have weaker civil service job protections. The terminations come in the midst of the current filing season. Some IRS employees were previously told they could not accept the administration’s “deferred resignation” offers until May 15, after tax season has ended.