First they go on unemployment. Then extended unemployment. During this time, they’ve sat on their collective, er, couches and have gained weight. This weight gain brings on diseases such as diabetes, which then leads to glaucoma.
Then they go on disability.
Depending on the size of the company they were laid off from, quite often the worker faced with the permanent loss of his job will also file a workers comp claim against the company.
Back around '78 - '80, already suffering the effects of the recession, my company in Detroit sold off it's Wheel and Brake division which resulted in the permanent layoff of of 700 - 800 employees.
Over the next year or two, our corporate Workers Comp dept. was deluged with over 300 workers comp claims. The plant's Local union was telling the employees to file the claims and of course refering them to the respective WC attorneys.....
As business started turning around about 1985, we were able to go into hiring mode again. Many of those who were let go were ultimately rehired over the next several years but those who had filed WC claims were ignored........