Hi Shweta,
Having worked in the industry for over 12 years now, These thoughts have often crossed my mind... but as we are a growing economy there are both boons & banes of it. While we reap rewards of the foreign currency inflows, it is time we learn the way the businesses operate globally. HR is no longer viewed as a support function by many corporates and instead is more oriented to become a business function... and the business situations are very dynamic... we have to constantly keep on evaluating our position vis-a-vis the market and do structural changes accordingly... However, I'm not trying to advocate the correctness of lay-offs. In my opinion too it is a very harsh truth to digest for the person affected.
While we do the dissection of the issue here, let's also not forget the other side of the coin where companies who get affected by the sky-rocketing salary demands of the people they recruit & still have to go through the pains of offer rejections, no shows etc... This does not justifies the unholy act of the employers but is also an issue to be debated as we discuss the issue of lay-off / pink-slips.
I agree to Tania's views where we should do a proper introspection before we go out and hire for a new position. We also have to acknowledge that there are times when companies make a wrong decision and it is never too late to correct...but at the same time we should avoid these mistakes... As a HR professional, it becomes more of our responsibilitiy to ensure that we do not crumble under the management pressure of hiring and present them with a better value proposition which helps avoid such situation. While I empathise with the ones affected, I also accept the market realities which are led by the demand and supply forces which drive the businesses for regular change in their strategies leading to such situations.