From my limited experience of redundancy in the corporate world there is a big downside to laying off the under-performers or those that otherwise don't meet the optimal profile (including in this special case aged 50+ in good health, old and infirm, sick etc)
The downside is that the top performers or those that are attractive to other employers get nervous about the layoffs. They start to think two things:
1 - Might I be next
2 - Perhaps the company is in more serious trouble than I know about
These thoughts can prey on their minds and start them down the road to looking at other opportunities, even leaving with no rational reason to do so.
A redundancy program can lead to losing significant quantities of people that you wanted to keep.
The downside is that the top performers or those that are attractive to other employers get nervous about the layoffs. They start to think two things:
1 - Might I be next
2 - Perhaps the company is in more serious trouble than I know about
These thoughts can prey on their minds and start them down the road to looking at other opportunities, even leaving with no rational reason to do so.
A redundancy program can lead to losing significant quantities of people that you wanted to keep.