Signage outside the Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It is unclear how the layoffs will affect tax collection services at the IRS, which is expected to receive more than 140 million returns this year, according to the AP.
The source told Reuters that the IRS will keep several thousand probationary employees who are considered critical for processing tax returns, including workers tasked with supporting and advocating for taxpayers.
The AP's source, meanwhile, reportedly said the job cuts will largely impact the employees in compliance. The compliance department oversees whether taxpayers are filing their returns, paying their taxes and meeting other tax obligations in full and on time by the April 15 due date.
The IRS has not confirmed the reported layoff plan. Fox News Digital reached out to the IRS and the Department of Treasury for comment Thursday but did not immediately hear back.
Laying off probationary federal employees comes as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase government efficiency and eliminate wasteful federal spending. The Department of Government Efficiency has been tasked with trimming the federal workforce, which includes laying off nearly all recent hires.
The announcement comes after President Donald Trump stated on Jan. 29 that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or face termination.
IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were also told earlier this month that they were not eligible to accept the Trump administration’s buyout offer until mid-May, after the taxpayer filing deadline, the AP reported.
President Donald Trump instructed the Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate wasteful federal spending by shrinking the size of the government workforce. (Brandon Bell)
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The Biden administration, however, argued that staffing up the IRS would help the federal government better ensure wealthy Americans were paying their fair share of taxes.
Service performance and phone wait times at the IRS have improved in the past two filing seasons, according to a statement from the IRS in January.
"This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS, and people will see additional tools and features to help them with filing their taxes this tax season," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel wrote in the statement. "These taxpayer-focused improvements we’ve done so far are important, but they are just the beginning of what the IRS needs to do. More can be done with continued investment in the nation’s tax system."
Fox News' Alexandra Koch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/irs-slash-nearly-7000-employees-starting-thursday-reports