That suggests that companies could have designed layoffs as accelerated attrition. They could make a prediction about who likely would have left on their own. They could make a prediction (or observation) about whom they were managing out. Then the first layoff target is the staff who would likely not be here in two years anyhow. That's a different approach than for example culling people with higher salaries who are not graded as extraordinary contributors. Either way, I think having an identifiable rationale for layoff choices makes a layoff less shitty to go through.