More than 1,100 staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency got notice today that they were deemed to be on probationary status and cautioning they might be fired immediately, according to an email obtained by CNN.

Probationary workers receiving the email have actually been working at the company for less than a year. The emails started to go out late on Wednesday afternoon, according to an EPA union authorities.

The very same message will be sent out to other firm workforces, a White House official stated. Across the US federal government, the current information shows there are more than 220,000 staff members on probation.

"As a probationary/trial period worker, the firm has the right to immediately terminate you pursuant to 5 CFR § 315.804," the EPA email to probationary employees reads. "The process for probationary elimination is that you receive a notification of termination, and your work is ended right away."

"Each staff member's status will be identified separately," the e-mail includes.

The email also spells out an appeals procedure workers can take to see if they are qualified for additional security.

The technique resembles how Elon Musk, now a key Trump adviser, handled layoffs when he bought Twitter - make a new email alias (in this case, notice@epa.gov) and then send out mass termination letters to everyone on it.

The US Office of Personnel Management declined to comment, and the White House and EPA did not respond to demands for job extra comment.

The EPA union official stated these probationary staff members aren't the same as at-will workers