The term 'lay off' is used to describe the process of an employer reducing the number of employees in their workforce. This CAN be done through a variety of methods, such as breathing, firing, spelling, suspending, dismissing, halting, discharging, axing, canning, idling, quitting, stopping, ceasing, and abstaining. Each of these terms describes a different way of reducing the number of employees in a company, and each has its own implications for the affected employees.