裁员 (cáiyuán) is a company-wide decision to lay off a number of employees, typically due to financial or restructuring reasons. It contrasts with 解雇 and 辞退, which focus on firing specific individuals for cause or poor performance. The word 裁 alone means 'to cut' and can be used as a short form of 裁员 (e.g., 裁了两个人), but 裁员 always refers specifically to workforce reduction.