IRS Sends Harsh Message To Employees Amid Second Round of Layoffs

The IRS is sending a stern message to its staff that working weekends and overtime during May is mandatory despite another round of layoffs.

The IRS is sending a stern message to its staff that working weekends and overtime during May is mandatory despite another round of layoffs. The memo was sent to employees in the IRS Input Correction Operation (ICO) department, responsible for resolving tax return errors flagged by the IRS’s Error Resolution System (ERS).

According to The Federal News Network, the memo states that “all minimally and fully successful” ICO employees will be required to complete the 16 hours of overtime. Leadership also informed employees that they could work overtime on weekdays. However, the leadership said the overtime is “not part of the required 16 hours” of weekend overtime on Saturdays, May 10 and May 17.

IRS Plans Another Round of Layoffs

The message comes to IRS employees amid another shakeup as the federal agency plans to lay off more employees.

“Remember, if we do not make a sizable dent in the ERS rejects … inventory, there is the possibility of additional required overtime,” IRS Operation Manager Latifah Hisham wrote in a memo to employees obtained by FNN.

In February, the IRS fired 7,000 employees during tax season. Most impacted employees worked in tax compliance, ensuring taxpayers followed tax laws, correctly reported their income, and filed their returns.

The IRS later emailed the fired employees to inform them they could return to work full-time on April 14, the day before the tax filing deadline for Americans. A day after the tax filing deadline passed, the IRS sent a memo to employees stating that it plans to cut the workforce by 40% with layoffs and buyouts.

According to The Street, the cuts will occur in two phases. The first phase began in April, and the second will start in August.

The second round of layoffs comes as the Trump administration prioritizes cutting the federal workforce, an effort led by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).