It is imperative now, when someone comes to look at the apartment, to run upstairs and ask the pianist to lay off for a while.

现在有人来看房子，必须马上冲上楼去叫那位钢琴家停一会儿。

youdao

"It is a lot easier for firms to make the decision not to lay someone off than it is actually to decide to take someone on,"

VOA: standard.2009.11.06

The third experiment looked at what happened when a manager had to lay someone off through a written memo.

FORBES: The Best Leaders Care About Their Status More Than Their Power

We're not talking about a high-and-fire economy, but at the moment if small businessmen need to lay someone off they've got a real problem.

BBC: NEWS | Europe | Schroeder on stony path of reform