Now comes the crunch...

Retrenchment...

Corporate jargon such as: "Manpower Rationalization Exercise" is a candy-coated word for "Retrenchment". This is a last-resort move by companies to save their ass from further deterioration.
That said, one of the largest media houses in Malaysia has called for such a practice.
But, this is not new. They have offered voluntary layoffs since 1998 and went on doing so for a number of times.

The changeover...

Prior to the new government, the said media house has played a role in executing their political master's agenda. With public trust diminishing over the years, sales have dropped. Our currency has never improved since 1998 and the cost of a newspaper has never increased. Basically, the profit is driven by advertisement and poor customer service has driven many advertisers to a rival media house. Another issue is the quality of the product. The media house suffered a talent drain as many of the good writers have either quit or joined a rival company.

Poor leadership qualities and succession rate...

When personal development is gauged on kissing ass and being a "yes-man", many of the talented folks who worked in the media house became disillusioned. They persevered and when they can't take it anymore, they leave. Those who chose to be in "the right camp" ascended. As an eyewitness, I saw how the Editors yell and scream at their charge. Instead of being professional, they punished their reporters by victimizing them. 
One jarring example was at one particular set-up in the media house, a news Editor had sexually harassed one of the female reporters by using the editorial operating systems messaging board. 
But this was swept under the rug as the said person was under "protection" from the higher-ups.
Another guy who tried to do the same by sending short messaging on his expensive personal device wasn't so lucky. The case was blown out of proportion and the guy had to leave before a domestic inquiry was called.
The journalist union in the media house was weak. Reporters continued to be abused. That's how bad the working conditions were at this place.
As the media house continues to decay, those who rose through default was politically-appointed to succeed some who had to leave. All they need to do is to continue kissing ass and spread propaganda. 
The final in the coffin was the appointment of a group of mediocre Editors to helm their company. These guys were the worst of the lot and it's no surprise the impending doom of the media house was compounded by a lot of poorly made decisions.

Fear, not the hardship and sufferings...

I sympathize with those who got retrenched. But life goes on. Get another job elsewhere, weather it out and hopefully, things would get better...