When reorganizing a business, communication with employees is vital. Communication not only builds loyalty in the employees that are kept, it helps the employees let go to realize what happened.
If deadlines are going to be stated, keep them makable. It is better to add to a time line before it is announced than to add to it when it is realized that the deadline has passed. Nothing raises tensions as much as broken promises.
When informing employees that they have been let go, it is important that the person has anticipated any questions and is ready to answer them. How a person is treated by the company will get around. The good will or lack of it engendered may well become significant down the road.
An example of a poorly done reorg is the one recently completed at L.L. Bean's computer services. For nearly a year, computing services endured meetings with no content, questions with no answers. When their leadership did know they kept it to themselves. Deadlines came and went with abandon.
When jobs finally were offered, the leadership expressed surprise over the number of people applying for the positions. They seemed overwhelmed by the numbers and unable to make decisions. As a result, leadership went even further over it's deadlines.
Employees were let go over the phone by people who were surprised that questions were asked. They were therefore unable to answer any queries. Leadership should not be surprised that an employee will want to know why s/he is being let go. When that doesn't happen the result is employees that don't trust their leaders and talented people are out on the street confused by what has happened.
As a child on long trips, I would ask my father how long before we got there. He would ask in turn "Do you want to be surprised or disappointed?" Surprise employees by meeting deadlines and communicating basic facts.