[wyldfire]

I always assumed that the disclosure rules for publicly traded companies would require them not to give anyone notice in advance of the public.

[joshribakoff]

Not true. Companies share material non public information internally. What they do is they have blackout periods where you cant trade the stock, and constant reminders not to trade based upon material non public information (insider trading)

Tl;DR = possessing insider info != insider trading

Generally speaking, with a layoff, they want all employees to hear it from official sources and not internal rumors.