One scenario:
In my experience of the US corporate world, the pink slip (chit?) was the redundancy notice, it was usually handed out midweek after an invitation to the company cafeteria after which one was firmly escorted from the building. (It really was Pink ,and I believe also a formal social security document)
The decision to hand them out midweek was to avoid too many weekend suicides resulting from stewing on the grim situation.
(The other reaction was to come back to the company guard shack with an array of firepower and attempt to blow everyone away from the CEO down. (Picture Rambo amock in a company carpark)
Exciting times, imagegear