The first layoff is always easy - cut the people that weren't great anyway.Never had to lay off, but had to fire people that were a bad fit. I told them - your a good person but this job isn't for you, I can give you some number of days pay and you walk out now, or you can go home and start looking for a job and your job for the next 30 days is to find a new job, and you can tell them your still employed here - easier to get a job when you have a job.
All but one of them called me nasty names and threw a fit. Which actually made it much easier - i tried to help you, your too stupid to realize it. The one that took the deal found a job right away, one that was likely better for his skill set anyway.
Successive pull backs get really hard, especially when random numbers land from corporate HQ even though your division is killing it really blows. Getting edicts like - "lose 7%" every other year and you go from cutting fat, to meat, to bone. Laying off good hardworking peopel. It's the worst.
Firing people is easier for me - by the time we get there, if they've worked for me, they know its coming and Im not upset because at that point its all on them.
For whatever reason, I never had anyone lose their cool with me.
Clearly most weren't happy, but no one lost it, although that happened all around me.
Like you I did what I could to architect soft landing with the good ones and guys that just didn't fit,
I usually managed to get them gigs in my channel.