As a person who has had to lay people off, I can promise you it hurts. Probably not as badly as being laid off, but laying people off does hurt.

Sometimes companies have to be streamlined to survive and the person who delivers the news goes over what he will say to each person in his mind for weeks then he does it and tries to make it painless, but there is no way, and it remains a painful memory for months.

JJ, I understand what you are saying, and I'm sure that being laid off is worse, but laying people off does hurt too. The only way I could do it was to focus on those whose job survived because I cut other jobs.

Only because I had that personnel agency did I come to understand that it's a hard thing for everyone. And it's something to bear in mind when applying for a job where lay offs have occurred as well. Employers will do just about anything to avoid it.

smile