Look, they're going to lay people off. That's not going to change.
But what the managers can control is what they say in the layoff meeting. What words they use. What their body language says. The message should be, "we really value your contributions. honestly. and we're really sorry to do this. it's only b/c we have to. believe it or not, this is really hard on us."
My managers were the opposite: cold, glared at me, made it sound like it was my fault. Never once mentioned that every single written review I ever got was above target. Seized my badge, kicked me out onto the sidewalk. That's what I'm asking management to not let happen to anyone again.