[mhink]

The way I see it, if you're gonna have to tighten your belt during the holidays, it's probably best to know about it sooner rather than later. By early December, people have likely already made plans for the holidays, which can easily include things that can't easily be changed (like expensive travel to go see family). Of course, that argument still applies if you're having layoffs in mid-January (right after people have done their holiday spending).

But I think it makes more sense if you look at it like this: some people feel like the holidays are already stressful enough, others feel like it's a time to be able to relax and refocus away from work. Having layoffs right at this point in time makes things even more stressful for the first group, and ruins the holiday for the second group. And in both cases, if you have layoffs in January, those affected can hit the ground running immediately rather than waiting for the New Year.