I heard (second or third hand) of this layoff at Evans & Sutherland back in the day. They first laid off a bunch of managers. But then there was nobody to tell their subordinates whether they were laid off or not. So they mass disconnected everyone from the network. If you could log back on, you still had a job.
Full disclosure: Over the years, someone may well have told me that this story was not accurate.
Full disclosure: Over the years, someone may well have told me that this story was not accurate.