The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is halting layoff plans and intends to rehire workers, multiple outlets reported. “As the IRS works to modernize and implement President Trump’s agenda, including the One Big Beautiful Bill, we are committed to ensuring the agency is staffed appropriately to serve the American people effectively and efficiently,” a Treasury spokesperson told The Hill. The IRS — which lost nearly 25 percent of its workforce, from buyouts, resignations and firings — told employees that it now wants to reverse some of those losses, asking workers who took buyouts to return and launching a hiring campaign. https://t.co/FqvnBZr9WZ — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 22, 2025 The Hill has more: This represents a reversal from months of cutting by the IRS, which has been in turmoil for months and recently lost its commissioner, Billy Long. Since February, the IRS has tried to downsize its workforce from 100,000 employees to 60,000. It fired 6,700 employees on Feb. 20, especially in teams working on tax compliance. In March, the IRS intended to cut staff from the National Taxpayer Association (NTA), which reports to Congress about IRS services. In April, it eliminated the Office of Compliance and Civil Rights as the Department of Government Efficiency recommended overall cuts of up to 20 percent. In February, Kevin Hassett, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the administration believed too many people were employed by the government to collect taxes. Workers who took deferred resignation are being told they can return to work with no repercussions, Axios noted. “IRS has identified critical vacancies that need to be filled and is exercising its discretion to offer you the opportunity to rescind your Deferred Resignation Program/Treasury Deferred Resignation Program (DRP/TDRP) agreement,” a message sent to employees read, according to the outlet. IRS halts layoffs and plans to bring back workers as tax season looms https://t.co/tbeDUH0LLh — Axios (@axios) August 22, 2025 Axios provided additional info: The about-face comes as the agency heads into a busy tax filing season, when it will need to adopt the many changes put in place by the “big, beautiful bill.” The White House had already asked for increased funding to hire more people to help with customer service. The agency had also reversed course on some firings of probationary workers in May, the Post reported. A spokesperson for the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, said in a statement to Axios that “we are committed to ensuring the agency is staffed appropriately to serve the American people effectively and efficiently.” “We are pleased that the administration now realizes it cannot afford to lose more of these trained, nonpartisan professionals,” Doreen Greenwald, national president of the union that represents IRS workers, said in a statement. Earlier this summer, the agency’s independent taxpayer advocate warned that the coming tax filing season was at risk given the sharp drop in staff at the agency.