Often established businesses that find themselves in a precarious financial situation will announce a hiring freeze several months before resorting to layoffs.
It's a much easier decision than laying people off, and much easier to reverse, so it can be taken a lot earlier. And you'll get a modest but relatively painless reduction in headcount due to attrition, if the rest of the job market is buoyant. It also means, if layoffs are needed a few months down the line, there isn't anyone being laid off on the day they join the company.
Of course, there are some situations where this doesn't work so well - for example, if employees will interpret the hiring freeze as a sign layoffs are inevitable they might suffer months of sleepless nights worrying if their neck will be on the chopping block.
