Federal workers are in shock as President Donald Trump prepares to fire 9,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees by next week.
The terminations are the first step to President Trump’s plan to abolish the IRS. In January, Trump sent a cease and desist to the IRS to protect middle class individuals and businesses from tax audits.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) conducted an audit for “inefficient” workers at the IRS. Most of the targeted employees work in the tax collections department.
DOGE determined that 250,000 “probationary” employees in various federal agencies, including the IRS, will be let go.
One employee who worked for the federal government for 19 years was fired because she received a promotion that placed her in a probationary status.
“The way they are doing this is straight incredibly malicious, downright evil,” one person wrote on a federal employee subforum on Reddit.com.
Over 65,000 federal workers accepted Trump’s buyout offer to resign last week and receive their paychecks until September 2025.
But thousands of workers who didn’t accept the offer received their termination notices on Valentine’s Day. The emails informed the workers: “You are not fit for continued employment…”
Another notice from the DOE read: “DOE finds that your further employment would not be in the public interest…”
9,000 IRS workers are expected to receive their termination emails within the next few days.
HR directors on Reddit.com advised employees to download all of their documents before opening their termination emails.
HR directors are working through the weekend to confirm that the termination emails are read. They then revoke system access for those employees.
“Again, do NOT open these firing notices until you have downloaded everything you need because your access will be revoked once you’ve read them,” the person wrote.
Over on the IRS subforum, employees comforted those who lost their jobs.
HR directors confirmed that employees working directly with income tax returns and refunds will not be fired – yet.
Some IRS employees received word that they are being let go, but they were asked to continue working until May 15.
