[jasonjayr]

> The truth is that businesses need the employees that they need at a point in time, and that number is constantly changing.

Another truth is that we've collectivly decided that all people must be working in order to "earn" their right to exist. So anytime there is a large layoff like this, there are a lot of new stories about people relocating, making major changes to their lives, some for the better, some for the worse, and some for the absolutely devastaing.

One must not forget that these 'human resources' are more than just a number.

[dangus]

I'm all for better protections for workers, and I think that the US should make companies give employees more notice, or alternatively make unemployment benefits a program that is more automatic, a full 100% of salary instead of being capped, and biased more toward the employee. I.e., I think a company should have to prove to a judge that an employee was fired with cause or quit voluntarily before the employee loses their benefits.

I totally agree with the idea that the benefits of at-will no-notice termination employment are lopsided in favor of the company, but the flip side of that arrangement is that it's very easy to get a new job in the US compared to many other places. It's easy to be hired on a short conversation and a handshake in an at-will environment.