IRS plans to cut up to 25% of staff, starting with closing its civil rights office, AP sources say

The IRS plans to cut as many as 20,000 staffers — up to 25% of the workforce — as part of layoffs that began Friday, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The job cuts will begin with the IRS Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, which would be reduced by 75% through layoffs, and its remaining workers would be absorbed into the agency's Office of Chief Counsel, according to those two people as well as a third person familiar with the matter. Fewer than 200 people work in the Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, formerly known as the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The three people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the plans. The Washington Post first reported on Friday's layoffs at the IRS, which collects revenue and enforces tax laws.

The workforce reductions are part of the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy through billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. The administration has closed agencies, laid off probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offered buyouts through a "deferred resignation program."

Read Full Article Here