Layoff (noun)

　　●Suspension or termination of employment by the employer or management. Layoffs are not caused by any fault of the employees but by reasons such as lack of work, cash, or material.

　　（（非因僱員差錯而引起的）解僱，裁員）

　　Examples:　　

　　1.The recent economic crisis has led to massive layoffs.　　

　　2.It will close more than 200 stores nationwide resulting in the layoffs of an estimated 2,000 employees.

　　Redundancy (noun)

　　●Elimination of jobs or job categories caused by downsizing, rightsizing, or outsourcing.

　　（（因公司縮小規模、重組或外判而引起的）削減職位）

　　Examples:　　

　　1.The economic downturn has meant 10,000 redundancies in the region.　　

　　2.They got rid of 80 staff in the latest round of redundancies.

　　Go under (phrasal verb)

　　●If a company goes under, it is unsuccessful and has to stop doing business.（倒閉，破產）

　　Examples:　　

　　1.Thousands of companies went under during the recession.　　

　　2.The charity will go under unless a generous donor can be found within the next few months.

　　Predicament (noun)

　　●An unpleasant situation that is difficult to get out of.（困境）

　　Examples:　　

　　1.She is hoping to get a loan from her bank to help her out of her financial predicament.

　　2.I'm in a bit of a predicament because I've accidentally accepted two invitations to dinner on the same night.

　　Scapegoat (noun)

　　●Someone or something that is blamed for something that someone else has done.

　　（替罪羔羊）

　　Examples:　　

　　1.Companies often use the economy as a scapegoat to avoid taking responsibility for dropping sales.　　

　　2.The captain was made a scapegoat for the team's failure.