In America, where most workers work under what is called the "at will" arrangement (i.e. either side can terminate employment at any time), it is routine for mass layoffs at large companies to be structured so as to eliminate the possibility of discrimination lawsuits. The typical "layoff" package (it's not really a layoff, because that implies re-hiring on a seniority basis as is done under some uniion contracts) includes the following:

• A fixed sum of money roughly comparable to one year's gross wages.
  
• An agreement on the ex-employee's part to not sue, the penalty being the loss of the money.
  
• A statement about how long before the employee can apply to work at the company again, typically a year.
  
• A summary of the demographics of the layoff, showing the total population in each of several classes, and the layoff number in each class. The company might have 10% of its employees over age 60, say, and the layoff summary would show that 10% of those losing their jobs are also over 60.

This "programmatic" selection of people to be made redundant is done by a computer program in the human resources department, and can be quite brutal. For example, long-term highly skilled employees may be let go simply in order to meet a demographic requirement.