Can you not just lay people off with a good severance package in America? Is there a reason for the charade? Maybe supposed to be better optics but definitely just looks worse
I was subject to a layoff at one point in my career and it is really up to the management. We ended up with severance, a year of warning the end is coming and some informal help with finding a new position. Then again, the company was removing its presence from state and it needed our help to make sure transition was smooth. I guess in this case, management felt there was no need for any niceties.