As part of its extensive efforts to decrease the size of the federal workforce, the Trump administration is eliminating more than 11,000 positions at the Pentagon and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Approximately 6,000 layoffs at the IRS began on Thursday, right as millions of Americans were preparing their tax 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.
As part of a drive to cut costs, the Trump administration has appointed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to carry out the layoffs. According to an email seen by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, the probationary workers who are anticipated to lose their jobs at the IRS “were not deemed as critical to filing season.” The majority of Americans must file their taxes by April 15; however, the government grants extensions in certain circumstances. Musk wields his Doge chainsaw – but is a backlash brewing?
Employees on probation typically hold jobs for less than a year. A person who has worked for a company for a long time but recently switched jobs is also frequently put on probation. The BBC has contacted the IRS and treasury department for comment.
The Small Business/Self-Employed (SBSE) Division is said to be the target of half of the layoffs, according to reports. Most of the layoffs are expected to affect newly hired and promoted employees. 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.
Many of the targeted roles appear to deal with compliance matters, or ensuring Americans pay what the government says they owe.
“What people like even less than paying taxes is not being able to reach someone to help them pay their taxes accurately,” Harvard Kennedy School professor Linda Bilmes told the BBC. The Biden administration had secured $80bn (£63bn) in funding for new resources and staff at the IRS, to help the government bring in more revenue.
Republicans, who generally advocate for lower taxes, opposed the effort and have long targeted the IRS for funding cuts.
In an interview on Fox News, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump’s “goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay”.
The president has proposed an “External Revenue Service” to generate funds from tariffs, or taxes on foreign imports, instead.
The firings at the Pentagon were expected to initially affect about 5,400 probationary workers beginning next week before freezing hiring, a defence department statement said.
But these job losses might not be the last.
“We anticipate reducing the Department’s civilian workforce by 5-8% to produce efficiencies and refocus the Department on the President’s priorities and restoring readiness in the force,” the statement added.
The defence department is the largest government agency, with a civilian workforce of about 950,000 employees, according to Reuters.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has supported these cuts, posting on X last week that the Pentagon needs “to cut the fat (HQ) and grow the muscle (warfighters)”.
Polling indicates some discomfort among Americans for Trump’s changes to the federal workforce.
A Washington Post/Ipsos poll suggests that 54% of Americans disapproved of the way Trump is managing the federal government, compared to 44% who approved.
