The joke, of course, is that they are laying off the older workers with prejudice, when it's the older workers who still have a sense of 'belonging' to the company they work for. The new hires have seen there parents laid off once or twice already; when the arrive in the workforce, they're already looking to get out. Hence the 50% voluntary attrition of new hires within 2 years of their hire dates in some areas of the enterprise.
I wish I were a younger worker with that temporary attitude. I wouldn't feel so down about having been dumped.