PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Hundreds of IRS employees who work in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood received termination notices on Thursday after they came to work.

Sources tell Action News that nearly 400 probationary employees were fired.

Employees said they were told not to do any work Thursday morning and were later sent an email that said they were terminated as of Thursday.

“It even says here in the email, they are citing the reason why I’m fired is because of my performance. But, until today I hadn’t gotten a performance review,” said Nicholas Berardi, who had worked for the IRS for about three months.

Berardi said his managers were blindsided by the move, especially in the middle of tax season. The layoffs are impacting 6% to 7% of the agency’s 100,000-person workforce and target new and newly promoted employees across the country.

SEE ALSO: Layoffs continue to rattle federal workers in Philadelphia

It’s part of a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the federal workforce and save money.

But union representatives believe the cuts are too drastic.

“The non-partisan civil service is the bedrock of a government that works for all Americans,” said Alex Jay Berman, the executive vice president for the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 71.

Berman met with laid-off employees outside the IRS building on Schuylkill Avenue in University City. He called the layoffs unlawful because they weren’t given any notice, and said the terminations had nothing to do with employee performance.

Employees who were escorted out of the building on Thursday were distraught.

“I was the first person on my team that got the email and I just broke down into tears,” said Kia P, who declined to give her full last name.

“It was a somber vibe. Nobody was trying to talk to us about anything,” said Darien Williams, who was laid off.

Some employees said losing so many people during tax season could impact services and even invite fraud. A sentiment echoed by the union.

“For people who would say that these cuts are necessary, I have two questions,” said Berman. “Don’t you want your federal government to work? And don’t you want your federal government to work for all Americans?”

Action News reached out to the IRS for comment and is waiting to hear back. Sources said more layoffs could be coming for the IRS and other agencies.