由于订单减少，公司被迫解雇了几百名工人。

Because of falling orders, the company has been forced to ___lay ___off several hundred workers.

这里真是一团糟：由于政府最近决定在公共服务部门解雇超过20,000人，许多人在罢工。

Here, it's a real mess: many people are on strike because of the recent decisions of the government to ___lay ___off more than 20,000 people in public services.

在经济衰退期间，许多公司为削减成本解雇了员工。

During the recession, many firms ___laid ___off employees to cut costs.