LAY OFF

Right to the point:

LAY OFF - to dismiss (an employee), esp. temporarily because of slack business.

e.g.

"A lot of people are getting laid off," says Jennifer Bender, vice president at Central Casting. "So we have quite a variety of people coming in looking for ways to make extra money, and it's a good way to supplement their income until they can figure out what to do with their next career."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104848039