idk, some people might take small comfort in the fact that an actual human feels bad about it. who knows?

imo all this "right/wrong way to fire people" is mostly bikeshedding. by far the worst part of being fired is the part where you don't have a job anymore. letting affected employees know as early as possible and paying severance are the only material ways to alleviate that.

It's not inappropriate to be apologetic or sympathetic. But saying "this is hard on me" is basically asking for sympathy from the person you are putting in a very stressful situation.

Even more so when the sentiment is literally "You know, last time I had to do this kind of thing I cried. This time, not so much."