The mass layoffs at LivingSocial reportedly set to occur tomorrow have already begun.

According to one D.C.-based LivingSocial employee, at least 25 people were let go today, not including a company president who “stepped down.” Three of the departing employees are based here in the District, where the company maintains a large presence and organizes a “Culture Team” I recently profiled in a Washington City Paper cover story. “It feels like a punch in the gut,” the LivingSocialite tells me. “They are happening very quietly. People I never thought would be going.”

Of the 25, the source reported, 23 are editorial staffers. One of the three departing D.C. employees the source mentioned has apparently already had his or her internal account shut off, according to the source. Neither of the other two responded to emails.

In the spirited comments section below my cover story, a couple employees hinted not only at mass layoffs “after Thanksgiving” and in the “near future,” but at a gradual workforce exodus away from D.C. Whatever cuts the company is making in the next week, I wouldn’t bet on that. Recall that LivingSocial only receives its full $32.5 million tax break if the company maintains 1,000 employees in the District from 2016-2025. LivingSocial is also penalized if fewer than half of its new hires are D.C.-based.

Still, says the source, more layoffs are expected in D.C. tomorrow, including in the PR department. “I’ve heard from higher up is that more should be expected tomorrow. There may be more today, but they are being extremely tight-lipped about it,” the source said. “It’s a super fun day to be LivingSocial!”

Photo by Darrow Montgomery