Nowadays thanks to remote working it's less embarrassing: your account simply becomes "deactivated" on Slack while you're in the middle of a chat with someone.

We made a lot of progress over the years I have to admit...

Always like this. First, layoffs are kept as secret as possible to avoid affecting the stock price as well as to facilitate insider trading by execs while limiting it by lower level managers.

Second, to avoid potential trouble with disgruntled employees, employees are locked out before being notified. In the rare case that someone is laid off mid-day, they immediately lose access to their office and are escorted out by security.

If this sounds abusive, it is because it is abusive. Not all companies operate this way, but many of them do.