A sign outside the IRS offices in Washington, DC. Flickr user arsheffield
More than 1,000 IRS employees agreed to buyouts in fiscal 2011
Figure doesn’t include results of a second round of offers in January.
More than 1,250 Internal Revenue Service employees took early retirement and buyout offers in fiscal 2011.
The figure, confirmed by the agency and first reported by Federal Times, represents more than 1 percent of the IRS’ 91,000-strong workforce.
The IRS offered buyouts in November 2011 to 5,400 employees, with the goal of getting one-third of them to accept the offer. It also offered buyouts and early outs for up to 400 employees in a second round in January 2012, but the IRS could confirm acceptance data only through the end of fiscal 2011.
The agency targeted analysts and communications and embedded support operations employees in its January buyout and early retirement offers. Employees were expected to choose whether to accept the $25,000 per person offer in March.
Many agencies announced buyouts and early retirement options in 2011. Both chambers of Congress have legislation pending that uses phased retirement options as another cost-saving measure.