Trump administration to cut thousands of jobs at Pentagon and IRS
The Trump administration is cutting more than 11,000 jobs at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pentagon, as part of its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
Around 6,000 layoffs at the IRS began on Thursday, coming in the middle of tax season as millions of Americans file their returns.The defence department plans to axe more than 5,000 jobs next week as part of a goal to reduce its nearly million-strong civilian workforce by 5 to 8%, the Pentagon said on Friday. It will also put a hiring freeze.
The Trump administration is cutting more than 11,000 jobs at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pentagon, as part of its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
Around 6,000 layoffs at the IRS began on Thursday, coming in the middle of tax season as millions of Americans file their returns.The defence department plans to axe more than 5,000 jobs next week as part of a goal to reduce its nearly million-strong civilian workforce by 5 to 8%, the Pentagon said on Friday. It will also put a hiring freeze in place.
The Trump administration has appointed Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to implement the layoffs as part of a cost-cutting drive.The probationary workers who are expected to lose their jobs at the IRS "were not deemed as critical to filing season", according to an email US partner.
Most Americans have a deadline of 15 April to file their taxes, though the government allows extensions under some circumstances.Musk wields his Doge chainsaw - but is a backlash brewing?Probationary employees are generally those on the job for less than a year. A person who has been a long-serving employee but moved to a new position is also often considered in a probationary position.contacted the IRS and treasury department for comment.
Reports suggest the terminations will target mostly new and newly promoted employees, with half of the cuts hitting an office known as the Small Business/Self-Employed (SBSE) Division.The email from SBSE commissioner Lia Colbert says that "while details are still developing, we understand that over 3,500 SB/SE probationary hires will be terminated by the end of this week".About 83,000 people worked for the IRS as of the 2023 fiscal year
