The IRS started a new round of layoffs on Friday beginning with the agency’s Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, according to an email obtained by ABC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, the agency is planning to cut nearly a quarter of its workforce with the cuts beginning Friday, sources familiar with the plans said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This action is being taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS in accordance with agency priorities,” according to the email, which added that the layoffs will “result in staffing cuts across multiple offices and job categories.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The civil rights office will be effectively shuttered by the move, with the remaining staffers moved into the Office of Chief Counsel, according to the email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency had previously drawn up plans to cut roughly 18% to 20% of the 100,000-person workforce by the middle of May.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The email sent to IRS employees Friday said the reduction in force will “be implemented in phases” and noted that employees will be offered early retirement incentives starting next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agency also recently put approximately 50 IT security staffers on administrative leave, according to people familiar with the move, as the agency faces pressure to make workforce cuts and demands for data-sharing<\/a> across the federal government during tax season. The Trump administration has said workforce changes will not affect staff directly working to process tax returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are concerns that the layoffs may still cause delays<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The bottom line: Forever, it has been an absolute rule of thumb that you keep things stable during filing season. Because it’s delicate,” one former IRS commissioner told ABC News. “And the idea that nearly 10% of the entire IRS workforce is being laid off right in the middle of filing season is extremely risky.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, more than 4,000 IRS employees accepted the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer. The agency also fired more than 6,600 probationary employees but has been forced to reinstate them<\/a> under court orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not clear if members of those two groups of employees will be targeted in the new reductions in force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several senior agency leaders, including the chief human resources officer, acting commissioner and acting general counsel, have resigned or been demoted since January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IRS and the White House did not respond to a requests for comment from ABC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n