Are refunds really being delayed because of this new administration and reduction in IRS employees

Any delays caused by a reduction in IRS employees will mostly be felt by people that are mailing their tax returns in.  When you e-file, the process is mostly automated, meaning nobody has to open the envelope and enter the tax data, etc.

There will only be delays caused by less employees in situations where something requires a human to work on the return.  If everything on the return goes through the computer system then the lack of personnel will not be an issue.