KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
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The Internal Revenue Service may bring back fired employees and hire new ones after aggressively cutting positions under the Trump Administration this year.
Government Executive, a publication focused on the federal government, published portions of an email from the IRS human resources department.
The email said, “IRS has identified areas where staffing reductions created a potential gap in mission-critical expertise.”
KSHB 41 News has not been able to independently confirm the email. Requests for information to the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service went unanswered.
Shannon Ellis, president of the local chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union, said she hadn’t seen the email.
Ellis estimates more than 1,000 people have left the IRS in Kansas City since President Donald Trump took office. People left through layoffs, early retirements, and other initiatives.
The layoffs were part of the Republican administration’s pledge to find waste, fraud, and abuse and increase government efficiency through the DOGE program.
Ellis knows of at least two former employees who recently had their “reduction in force” layoff notices rescinded.
“I hope, I really hope the agency now is coming back and saying, 'Yes, we screwed up. Yeah, we need these people back to get the mission done."' "I hope this has a wider span,” Ellis said.
The IRS careers website currently indicates it’s hiring for 220 vacant, seasonal positions in Kansas City.
The NTEU Local 66 is hosting a rally supporting federal employees outside the IRS office at 333 West Pershing Road in Kansas City on September 20, beginning at 11 a.m.
