I suspect it differs from show to show, network to network, production company to production company… Just like in any other business, layoffs are handled very differently from one company to another: I’ve seen places where months of advance planning prepared managers and staff for the coming layoff with weeks of notice and severance packages running months long, and others where managers got paperwork for their employees to be laid off on the day of the layoff, no notice period, and a paltry two-week severance package. I’m sure it’s the same in the TV biz.