IRS to axe 6,000+ workers amid Trump's cost-cutting sweep

The Internal Revenue Service reportedly notified staff that over 6,000 will be let go before week's end.

The decision follows President Donald Trump's directive to slash probationary workers across the federal government.

'Abolish the Internal Revenue Service.'

An internal email obtained by CBS News revealed that more than 3,500 of those affected are probationary hires in the IRS' Small Business/Self-Employed Division.

The email, signed by SBSE Commissioner Lia Colbert and SBSE Deputy Commissioner Maha Williams, noted that employees will be notified by the agency's Human Capital Office on Thursday whether their positions have been impacted.

It stated, "While details are still developing, we understand that over 3,500 SB/SE probationary hires will be terminated by the end of this week."

Those expected to be terminated "were not deemed as critical to filing season," the correspondence added.

A separate email was sent to managers in the IRS' Large Business & International Division, requesting that they work in the office on Thursday and Friday "to support offboarding activities," CBS News reported. The number of affected staffers in that division remains unclear.

Before launching the government-wide purge of probationary employees, the Trump administration offered a "deferred resignation" buyout that would have allowed workers to retain their pay and benefits until September 30. More than 75,000 federal workers took the deal.

Neither the IRS nor the White House responded to CBS News' request for comment.

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The cuts follow a visit last week from a Department of Government Efficiency staffer.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields stated, "Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long."

"DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover, as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on," Fields added.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News' Jesse Watters on Wednesday that Trump's goal is to "abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay."

"As the president said, reciprocal tariffs, either you bring yours down or we're going to bring ours up. If we go to their level, it will earn us $700 billion a year to be equal to everybody else," Lutnick stated. "And there goes our deficit. And interest rates come smashing down, and the whole economy explodes higher."

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