Laying off people is always more than just a reduction in the numbers on a company's payroll. Downsizing has evolved from being a reaction to an economic downturn, into a corporate weapon for projecting a picture of improved performance. The broader implications of downsizing have been discussed in this article.

If one were to take some poetic license in interpreting Frost as articulated in `The Rose Family', one can say that all the euphemistic terms in the opening sentence mean only one thing to the layman-losing his job. Different words could have different shades of meaning, but disengaging a person from his job has huge implications for the person, his peers, the organization he works for and the society and economy as a whole.

Many of today's companies, including General Motors, prefer using the term `Rightsizing'. Coining the term `rightsizing' to make it sound better is just a politically correct way of presenting an unpalatable truth.