Some how firing/laying-off has been trivialised. I don't think it has been. I don't think you can generalize the sentiment of people at a company from the HN p

Some how firing/laying-off has been trivialised. I don't think it has been. I don't think you can generalize the sentiment of people at a company from the HN post about a PR announcement for how they're cutting staff. When a company announces layoffs they're telling the markets, investors, and the public that they need to make a significant change. That doesn't tell you anything about how the founders, board, HR team, or anyone else feel about the layoffs. FWIW the people I know who work in HR are usually gutted when they have to make jobs redundant. Founders and boards are less so, but usually because they believe it's a choice between jobs cuts and company collapse. Both these things are from very limited exposure to companies making cuts though. Perhaps there are companies and people out there who think it's trivial. That would be sad.