Don't lie, but remember you have a great deal of latitude in the story you tell. You aren't obligated to provide every single detail, and there's nothing wrong with spin. And don't disparage people or the company--that will always be considered bad form. For example, I had a related experience two years ago. I worked for a small firm in start-up mode for a year, during which time many changes happened. It became a place I was no longer excited about, and the partners could sense it. They wanted to demote but keep me, and I refused the offer, so they asked me to leave. When asked about it now, I say it was a dynamic firm in growth mode, but the rapid change made it unrecognizable in a year, and so we parted ways. This response is not untrue, and no one has ever questioned me further. Another strategy I use when preparing to answer questions about employment history is worst-case-scenario things. I imagine every terrible question that could come my way and then I spend time writing and refining my responses. This exercise gives me the perspective I need to shape my narrative honestly but on my terms.

I have to disagree with the poster who advises you to "Lie. Lie, lie, lie." I have several years of experience as a recruiter and if I checked references on a candidate we were interested in hiring and discovered he/she had lied, it would be game over. I would advise the employer to not only not hire him/her for this position, but to make a permanent note in the candidate's file that he/she is untrustworthy in case another application came in down the road. Depending on your location and industry, it may also be a "very small world" - meaning the dishonesty could harm your chances of being hired elsewhere, too. Finally, if the truth came to light after you were hired, your dishonesty during the hiring process could be grounds for immediate termination. I agree with the posters above who encourage you to focus on the positives and refrain from trash-talking your former employer [that's never a good sign in an interview!]. When I ask candidates, "Did you leave that position voluntarily?" I appreciate a straightforward answer, even if the answer is "No, I didn't." You could follow up by explaining that the company culture was not a great fit; that there was a lot of turnover among management [if true]; that recent changes and restructuring resulted in the loss of many positions; that you were already exploring other options because you had realized the company/position wasn't a fit, etc. Answering graciously but honestly is 100% better than either lying OR stating something along the lines of, "My old boss was a psycho and I was awesome at my job, but they fired me for no reason." You could truthfully explain that you received [good, great, excellent] feedback about your performance during your tenure with the company, and that the position gave you a lot of experience in ABC and helped you strengthen your XYZ [attention to detail?!] skills. Say that you were let go rather suddenly, for the first time in your career, and that you never received a satisfactory explanation. I've heard it all; the truth as you explain it in your original post would not disqualify you from hiring; lying or disparaging a former company or colleague likely would.

A lot of companies use this as a question to see how you handle it. I have found the best answers have come short and sweet. There don't need to be a lot of facts and certainly leave out the emotion. Something simple as "my company went through a massive reorg that eliminated thousands of positions in which one was mine" works just fine.

Lie. Lie, lie, lie. I've been in the same position. When I was looking for a new job afterwards, I did literally 54 interviews (I kept track of the details in a spreadsheet). For the first 53 I was truthful and got rejected. Fifty-fourth? I lied and got the offer three hours after I left the office. Seriously, what's the worst thing that happens if you lie? They call the place you used to work, find out you lied, and don't hire you. Well, if you tell the truth, they're not going to hire you either, so may as well take the chance.

I had this experience recently myself. There was a management change and after 3 years, all of a sudden, I became the worst employee that ever walked the face of the planet. Now that I am actively seeking employment, I was told by a recruiter, moving forward to say, not that I was "terminated" but, if asked why I am no longer at my previous job, to say it's due to "Corporate Reorg" that way I don't put a negative spin on the previous company in my interview. I do however completely understand where you are coming from and wish you all the best.

If the layoff was in the last 6 months or so, millions of people have been laid off due to the economic impact of the Pandemic. I think most people would assume that's what happened, but no, if asked directly, I would not lie. I would say what's been suggested above about fit, how much you learned and why your want to grow with ABC company.

I was fired from a "legal secretary/paralegal" job I tolerated. The office manager had pancreatic cancer and was declining in health. The last month or two before she passed the receptionist "assumed" the role of office manager and was not pleasant about it. Yes, very odd dynamic. The attorney felt threatened by me, not assumed, he actually said so, that he expected me to correct the mistakes of my predecessor who he thought walked on water. Knowing she was failing soon, they hired another secretary (destined to replace me) and move my work space to the library. (Yes, I got the message.) After the office manager died, we all went to the funeral, but I didn't go to the cemetery. A few days later I was called into his office and was fired. This guy was notorious for not paying unemployment benefits "because he always won." When I applied, he contested and, of course, I appealed. My argument was the tension was so high in the office from the loss of the office manager, that my termination was the overpressure plug. I got unemployment. It was all true. I just left out the animosity the receptionist stirred up and escalated.

I'm an award winning marketer and magazine editor and yet I've been terminated without cause from my last two positions. What I've learned through this is that it never pays to lay your cards on the table and it always pays to stick to the positives. Generally I just say that I left my previous position because it wasn't a good fit, or I was ready for a new challenge that will allow me to continue to grow in my profession.

You can tell them you were laid off and mention you always received good performance reviews.