Stripe, the Bay Area’s second most valuable startup, emailed a layoff notice to 300 workers - along with a cartoon picture. Is this the way to handle layoffs?

At least 240 employees are known to have been fired, reassigned, or designated to be laid off. Thousands of employees could be affected by other moves, such as a federal employee buyout offer, or the grant funds pause.

US President Donald Trump has offered federal workers the option to resign and receive pay for eight months, in a major effort to shrink and reform the US government. In an email, his administration has asked almost all government employees to decide by 6 February whether they want to be part of a "deferred resignation" programme that will mean them leaving their jobs no later than the end of September.