Having managed and laid off people (unfortunately), I would guess middle managers have already been given a number X to cut already, and they are spending some sleepless nights already trying to figure out exactly what to say (unless they are too chicken and have HR personel do the firing)
I always definitely know because I explicitly ask, and recommend others do as well. It was one of the things I started doing after reading through Netflix's culture deck.
vikramkr|5 years ago
jhwang5|5 years ago
lozaning|5 years ago