Originally Posted by
TURIN
Fired! What is this? Some daft 'Reality' TV series?
They are being made redundant. Fired suggests it's their own fault. Who wrote this?
A non-native English speaker who does not know about the subtle differences between being laid off, made redundant, and fired.
So, to those who don't know the difference: being fired usually means that your employment is being terminated "for cause", meaning you ****** up and the company decided to punish you with termination. This usually happens only after you don't perform, or kick your manager in the face for example. If you have been fired, future empoyers will think twice before hiring you.
In this particular case, nobody was being "fired". The employees were made redundant (laid off). This was due to no fault of their own and future employers will not hesitate to hire them, as everyone understands the mechanics of economics.
Also note that this difference is especially important in at-will employment jurisdictions such as most states in the U.S. In my home state California, for example, my employer can let me know at any time for pretty much any reason. This is referred to as "at-will" employment. I can also quit my job at any time for any reason. The flip side of this is that I'll easily be rehired by someone else as this is without risk. This is in sharp contrast with most employment protections that employees have in most of the European Union, where in some cases an employer can only terminate an employee with permission from the government. Not to start a debate on which one is better, but just as an explanation.