The golden rule. I like it!

Laying hardworking, qualified people off is tough, period.

Assuming you care (as a human being), of course.

I had to lay someone off last year, and it was awful. The guy really deserved to keep his job, but management had to slash cuts, and there was no stopping it. The expereince was made all the more bitter by the fact that less competent people were being kept on the payroll.

Fortunately I left before things got worse.