Signs of Layoff

My previous experience (from Sun around 1999-2002) was that some time 
before layoffs started, all the reqs would get closed (rather than 
modified). In fact, this was one of the more reliable early indicators 
that a layoff was on the way. (Earlier in Sun's history, another one was 
when all the contractors arrived one morning to find out none of their 
badges worked. Part of the upcoming layoff was to get rid of all the 
contractors, and HR/security were notified and disabled the badges on 
the morning of the day when the contractors were supposed to be told by 
management. Of course by the time the contractors went to security and 
got inside they already knew what was up.)

This brings to mind quite an old story (perhaps this is from HP in the 
80's?). According to the story, at one large company, the most reliable 
indicator of layoffs or downsizing was with the vending machines. As the 
story goes, the company would notify the vending operator that the 
number of nearby people would be going down. So the vending machine 
operator would get to work and trade out all the big vending machines 
for smaller ones. Often the vending machine tradeout would precede the 
public notification of the layoffs by a significant time (like a couple 
of weeks).