More than 1,000 federal workers in Kansas City may face termination this week as part of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting blitz.
Shannon Ellis, president National Treasury Employee Union chapter in Kansas City, which represents IRS workers here, said Tuesday a guard at the Internal Revenue Service processing center near Union Station alerted her that people hired in the last year or two, who are still in their probationary period, would all be fired Wednesday.
Ellis also said she was told local security staff is scaling up to escort all the newly fired employees out of the building.
“These decisions are not being based on anything other than the date these people were hired,” Ellis said.
Ellis noted it is easier for the administration to fire more recent hires because they have less standing to sue the government. And she said the workers who are likely to be targeted in this round of terminations tend to be vulnerable economically as well as legally.
“It's so sad that a lot of these people take these jobs because they need the insurance,” said Ellis. “They need that steady paycheck, and now it's just, the rug is being pulled out from underneath them.”
The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Are you a federal worker in Kansas City affected by job cuts? KCUR would like to hear from you for future reporting. Email news@KCUR.org with the subject line LAYOFFS.
Ellis said the union will fight the layoffs, likely coming as part of Elon Musk’s so-called efficiency push. She said the union plans to direct any suddenly unemployed federal workers to agencies in the area that may be able to help with rent, utility bills and food in the meantime.
The job cuts come at a terrible time for the IRS, Ellis said. The Kansas City processing center has already been working seven days a week to try to stay ahead of the tax season deluge of filings, and questions from taxpayers. She said the agency has been short-staffed for years and that a purge of recent employees could hobble the urgent work of processing taxes.
“We're coming into tax season and, you know, 812 of the 1,000 or more that's going to be terminated were brought in specifically to process your returns,” Ellis said. “I mean, that's a huge impact.”
Losing that many federal government jobs in a single day would also be a blow to the Kansas City regional economy. Greater Kansas City relies on federal jobs more than almost any other city in the country.
The federal government provides 2.5% of the jobs in greater Kansas City, according to Frank Lenk, director of the Office of Economic Research at the Mid America Regional Council. Only the Washington D.C. area and San Diego rely more on paychecks from Uncle Sam, said Lenk.
Lenk also said federal jobs tend to pay higher than average wages, and come with good benefits. Traditionally they are more stable than private sector jobs, and that has helped Kansas City weather past recessions, he said.
Other agencies with lots of employees in greater Kansas City include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Environmental Protection Agency, all of which are facing steep job cuts.
Ellis said the federal workers she’s spoken with don’t expect the current round of cuts to be the last.
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