Interesting, apparently it used to mean either, without prescribing a timeframe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layoff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layoff I t

Interesting, apparently it used to mean either, without prescribing a timeframe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layoff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layoff I think the meaning has fully shifted to imply permanence, for at least a couple decades now. The word that comes to mind for a temporary situation is furlough, although I’ve mainly heard that used in a government context. Maybe the difference is that most people now change jobs often enough, that the government is the only entity that would promise to re-employ those they temporarily couldn’t pay.