OTTAWA
The Canada Revenue Agency says up to 260 employees will be laid off in the coming months as part of a new round of workforce adjustments.
The agency informed employees on Wednesday about its decision to “make workforce adjustments” at its Ottawa headquarters and regional offices across the country.
A total of 735 executive and non-executive employees were notified that their positions may be affected.
“To support continued employment where future opportunities can be reasonably assured, the CRA provided guarantees of continued employment to 110 affected employees,” the CRA said in a statement on Thursday.
“This supports the retention of employees in areas that continue to have operational requirements, primarily in compliance. As workforce adjustments proceed, up to 260 employees are expected to leave the CRA.”
The Union of Taxation Employees said 534 of its members at the CRA received workforce adjustment notices on Wednesday.
The union says employees work in the Appeals Branch; Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch; Commissioner’s Office; Human Resources Branch; and Compliance Programs Branch.
“According to the CRA, the reasons vary by branch,” the union said in a media release.
“They include the end of pandemic-related funding and workloads, expenditure reductions and budget pressures, Agency Alignment and organizational streamlining, changes in workload, centralization, harmonization, digital or self-service delivery, and regional and organizational restructuring.”
The CRA says it expects “services to Canadians will continue without disruption” during the changes.
“The organizational changes the CRA put in place help align programs, services, and organizational structures with current and future business needs,” the federal department said.
“They support the Agency’s transformation and its priorities: service excellence, revenue generation, and operational efficiency. Throughout this process, the CRA remains dedicated to protecting services that Canadians rely on and to minimizing impacts on employees.”
In April, the CRA said up to 210 jobs were being cut, with the workforce adjustments “mainly linked” to the winding down of the Federal Fuel Charge.
Federal unions said more than 450 members received notices that their jobs may be at risk at that time.
“The CRA recognizes the uncertainty these changes create for employees and is committed to supporting them throughout this process,” the department said.
“The CRA has made significant progress in reducing expenditures and finding efficiencies. These efforts have been essential to improving our financial position, largely achieving our expenditure targets, and meeting our savings commitment under the Comprehensive Expenditure Review.”
Unions warn of service delays
The Public Service Alliance of Canada warns the job cuts at CRA will result in longer wait times and delays in accessing resources.
“Workers at CRA are already overworked and understaffed,” Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president, said in a statement.
“Cutting more jobs at CRA isn’t how you improve service, it’s how you increase delays and frustrations of people across Canada when they’re trying to access services.”
The president of the Union of Taxation Employees said the cuts mean workers have “fewer resources and less time to support people.”
“It’s increasingly clear that our members bear the brunt of cutbacks,” Adam Jackson, UTE national president, said in a statement.
“While CRA advertises external job competitions, 534 of our members face uncertainty about their jobs and their families’ future. We will fight to keep them employed.”
As of March 31, 2026, the CRA employed 48,774 employees, down from 52,499 employees in March 2025.
The agency’s 2026-27 departmental plan shows the agency is planning $1.2 billion in spending reductions over three years as part of the government’s comprehensive expenditure review.
The federal government launched the workforce adjustment process in the Canada Strong Budget 2025 last November, which outlined the federal government’s plan to reduce the size of the federal public service by 28,000 positions by 2029.
The plan calls for 16,000 full-time equivalent positions to be eliminated through the comprehensive expenditure review.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says 9,438 federal public servants have been approved for early retirement packages.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by BNN Bloomberg and CTV News. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.