Layoffs will happen when companies aren't doing well. IMHO, the problem is the CEO getting a freaking _BONUS_ while simultaneously claiming the company isn't doing well and as a result they're laying off people. The board probably approved his bonus as well, so all this is nothing but a PR stunt. They don't care, they never cared.

If the company isn't doing well everyone in senior management should also get a haircut. Bonus cancelled, pay reduced, etc. As per the CEO - "Not meeting deadlines will not be acceptable". Well, dude, what about your own deadlines and milestones? He drove the company into the ground, and so should also shoulder some of the responsibility.

I don't remember when this happened exactly during my career, but someday something clicked in my mind and I learned that, after youre promoted above middle management, you can get away with most legal but immoral things, and with many straight up illegal stuff as well. One can concentrate so much power without accountability that it's easy to blame someone else, the market, the client, the employees, and keep changing the rules to never get screwed. And if something happens... There's always a "sabbatical period" to relax a bit before going on to the next company.

What's the "normal" way to lay off a group of people of that size? Do companies normally schedule one on one meetings in this case?