The IRS says it plans to furlough nearly 50% of its staff amid the ongoing US government shutdown, according to a new contingency plan from the agency. As the government shutdown enters its second week, the IRS is cutting down on paid employees in an effort to shave spending. The agency’s initial Lapse in Appropriations Contingency Plan provided for the first five business days of operations, stating that the department would remain open using Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act funds.
Per the revised contingency plan, only 39,870 IRS employees, or 53.6%, will remain working as the shutdown continues.
IRS Continues to Get Hammered Down in 2025
The IRS has already seen thousands of layoffs this year in an effort by the Trump administration to gut the agency. The newly implemented Department of Government Efficiency, previously led by Elon Musk, cut the jobs of tens of thousands of government workers, including IRS employees. At the end of 2024, the agency employed roughly 100,000 staff — but that number currently hovers around 75,000 at press time.
While many employees will now be furloughed, there are still hundreds, if not thousands, who are working without any pay due to the cut in government spending. Therefore, a resolution is still needed to avoid any more unpaid days for employees or further furloughs throughout the IRS. Further, as a result of the shutdown, many employees across agencies being deprived of funding may start calling out since they aren’t being paid anyway.
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The government has now been shut down for over a week, and Congress still appears deadlocked on a funding plan. The Senate again failed to advance competing proposals from Democrats and Republicans to fund the government. Even worse, US President Donald Trump is now teasing that many federal employees may not receive back pay amid the shutdown, controversially saying they “don’t deserve it,” especially Democrats. “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about. I can tell you this, the Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you’re talking about,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Tuesday.