More than 6,000 employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are set to lose their jobs by the end of this week, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Over half of those affected, around 3,500 workers, belong to the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed (SBSE) Division.
An email sent to SBSE managers on Wednesday revealed that these employees, who are still in their probationary period, will be notified on Thursday.
The layoffs are happening just weeks before the peak of the tax filing season in mid-March.
The affected workers were reportedly not considered essential for the filing process.
The cuts follow a directive issued by the Trump administration and the Office of Personnel Management, instructing federal agencies to reduce probationary employees.
The IRS, which had nearly 83,000 full-time positions in 2023, has been undergoing financial adjustments since Congress rescinded $1.4 billion of its funding last year.
Employees in other IRS divisions, including the Large Business & International Division, were also asked to report to the office for offboarding procedures.
It remains unclear how many more workers might be affected.
The layoffs come shortly after the federal government introduced a buyout programme allowing employees to resign while keeping their pay and benefits until September 30.
Over 75,000 workers accepted the offer before the deadline.
The programme has faced legal challenges, but a federal judge ruled earlier this month that it could proceed.