Sakr Accounting Services

The Internal Revenue Service began to terminate thousands of employees Thursday, disrupting the agency when tax season is in full swing and tens of millions of people are seeking refunds.

A termination memo sent Thursday to IRS employees read: “Your continued employment at the Agency is not in the public interest.” The email said employees would be removed from their positions on Thursday.

The agency is set to lay off at least 6,000 people from its roughly 100,000-strong workforce. Already, the IRS was struggling with recruitment and retention.

The layoffs, which are mostly in the compliance division, mean some collections and audits are likely to be paused, and one-on-one personal service is set to be more limited.