IRS cutting its workforce by 25%, eliminating agency’s civil rights office

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will slash its workforce by at least 25% beginning Friday with layoffs as the Trump administration continues to shrink the size of the federal government. 

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.

The remaining employees in the division will be transferred to other departments. 

“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,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said to Fox News Digital.

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“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. 

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“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 Digital that the reductions are part of, and driven by, “process improvements and technological innovations that will allow the IRS to collect revenue and serve taxpayers more effectively.”

“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 said. “The Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve.”

The layoffs were expected, as the agency announced in February its intention to slash nearly 7,000 probationary workers in Washington, D.C.

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Those employees have since been reinstated by a court order.

The IRS has roughly 90,000 employees in total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data.