Rude Q&A documents are similar to FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) documents but are for internal use only, and NOT published or distributed in any way to the public or press. The purpose of a Rude Q&A document is to prepare internal staff to answer sensitive or difficult questions from the media, customers and/or general public. The Rude Q&A document is highly confidential and should only be distributed to designated staff who serve as spokespeople for the company.

The sample Rude Q&A below references a company that has just announced it will lay off 10% of its workforce.

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**INTERNAL USE ONLY - CONFIDENTIAL**

Does this layoff mean that your company is going out of business?
No. Our business is very stable, however the current market conditions require that we streamline our operations to reduce overall costs. We have chosen to integrate two units, and unfortunately there is some overlap in responsibilities, resulting in us having to lay off certain positions.

Couldn't you have cut costs elsewhere? (Instead of laying off people?)
The decision to reduce our headcount was inevitable, however our decision to combine the two units was the best option we had, resulting in the least amount of layoffs possible.

How will this layoff affect your ability to respond to customer inquiries?
We can assure our customers that they will not see a decline in their customer service. We have customer service systems in place that are not affected by this situation, and our policy of responding to and helping any customer inquiry within 48 hours will continue to be strictly enforced.