Kansas City is home to more than 6,000 IRS workers, and union leaders say many have been watching Washington anxiously as their livelihoods hang in the balance. IRS workers in Kansas City brace for unpaid days as federal shutdown begins The federal government shut down overnight, closing many agencies and leaving hundreds of thousands of workers facing furloughs or unpaid shifts. Thousands of KC IRS workers brace for federal shutdown. Thousands of IRS employees across Kansas City face unpaid furloughs after a federal shutdown, with union leaders warning workers will struggle to pay bills and buy essentials. Some federal workers in Kansas City uncertain about future amid government shutdown Employees at the IRS in downtown Kansas City said this is what they consider the latest attack on federal workers in a year that has been full of them.