The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) terminated staff members in the Office of Civil Rights and Compliance on Friday ahead of a larger slated reduction in force according to multiple reports.
IRS officials announced they would be eliminating the office dedicated to preventing discrimination in an email to staff after firing roughly 130 of its employees, as reported by the Washington Post.
Those remaining were moved to the Office of Chief Counsel according to an email reviewed by Bloomberg Tax, which first reported the cuts.
Since President Trump returned to Washington, mass layoffs and firings have been encouraged by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which urged the IRS to slash 20 percent of its workforce by May 15 as reported by the publication.
Thousands of terminations have gone out ahead of the tax filing deadline on April 15, which is less than two weeks away.
Despite concerns, a Treasury spokesperson previously told The Hill that the department is “considering a wide range of possible streamlining initiatives” and that “no plan has been approved to date.”
Several other departments and agencies have been hit with layoffs as DOGE seeks to shrink the size and scope of the federal government, which is threatening the Washington economy.
Last month, a outplacement firm found that cuts to the federal workforce totaled over 275,000 people.
And this week, workers at the Department of Health and Human Services have been hit with layoff notices, prompting fears of a brain drain from the field.