Firms downsize their work force so frequently that it is rare to meet someone nowadays who has never been fired. Many studies have been conducted about dismissal effects on layoff victims and survivors, but the literature on HRM does not explore enough the process of dismissal. Issues as recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, development and compensation are always presented but dismissal seems to be omitted. The objective of this work is to describe how the practices of dismissal are constructed on the organization, from the perspective of agents of dismissal and human resources managers. During this process, communication represents an essential role since it's necessary to construct coherent meanings to actions. As showed by Legge, 1995, rhetoric of tough love describes the logic of the organization's practices of dismissal and downsizing. The article also shows how the language proposed by the Human Resources has a useful ambiguity which attends the interests of the organizations.