ORLANDO, Fla. – Rita Santiago and Debora Talutto are among the many IRS workers facing layoffs in various Central Florida locations like Orlando, Daytona, Melbourne, and Lakeland.
“I have 27 years of experience in accounting, finance, and taxes—I thought this was my big break,” Santiago said.
According to the National Treasury Employees Union and former IRS staff, approximately one-third, or about 100 workers, from the Orlando offices have been notified of their termination either on Wednesday or Thursday.
Debora Talutto, who has specialized in international tax and transfer pricing for two decades, expressed her disappointment: “I have a wealth of experience, having taught online transfer pricing programs at the University of Florida and Texas A&M. Despite my qualifications, being a probationary employee puts me on the chopping block.”
The White House says thousands of IRS employees across the country are losing their jobs.
“I think our objective is to make sure that the employees we pay are being productive. More than 100,000 people are working to collect taxes, and not all of them are fully occupied,” White House Advisor Kevin Hassett stated.
George Carpenter, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, says they have five lawsuits in federal courts to combat the recent firings.
“It’s gonna be a significant impact on federal workers, who are everyday Americans, and it’s gonna have a significant impact on the services that Americans count on and pay taxes for,” said Carpenter.
Members with the NTEU say that this will lead to longer wait times for Social Security, veteran affairs, appointments, tax refunds, and much more.
Employees like Santiago were in their first year with the IRS. Now, she’ll have to figure out her next steps after her dream job was taken away.
“What am I gonna do now in a country where I’ve only been nine months? I left everything in Puerto Rico just to be here with my son, and it’s heartbreaking,” Santiago said.
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