Happy workers equals happy customers. If that's true, the opposite is also true. Granted, tough times call for tough actions, but the philosophy of dragging out these job cuts over time and not letting the healing begin can only create more problems. Customer care will suffer and once that happens the company loses more business, which in turn can create the need for even more cuts. We can't cut our way to greatness.
Workers understand the pressures of the industry and the economy.
They don't like it much, but they understand that jobs have to be cut from time to time. However there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. One way does what it has to do while minimizing the collateral damage of worker morale and customer care. The other way shoots a company in the foot by ignoring the psychology of job cuts.