[jschveibinz]

1. Never deliver bad news on a Friday.

2. Provide a promise of positive references and access to managers after termination.

3. Allow plenty of time for folks to say goodbye to coworkers and gather their their things in their own time.

4. Consider contacting recruiters to let them know that folks may want to contact them.

5. Be grateful for the effort that these people have given to your company.

6. Make sure that HR will make it a priority to assist in the transition and answer any and all questions for several weeks after termination.

7. Remember that a large termination will send shock waves through your staff, so expect good people to leave after a termination event. Do whatever you need to do to keep good people happy.

[rtp4me]

Agreed - especially the line about "never deliver bad news on a Friday". It makes the situation seem hopeless for the affected people since they (a) probably have tons of questions that won't have answers, and (b) have no way to make their situation better since interviewing for new roles doesn't really happen over the weekend.