Is Terminating Employess In An Effort To Reduce Costs And Save The Business Legal?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100219/ap_on_bi_ge/us_boeing_layoffs;_ylt=Ahw2D.v73pnSpNlp8eLj9NKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNsbGp2NHUzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjE5L3VzX2JvZWluZ19sYXlvZmZzBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNQRwb3MDMgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA2JvZWluZ3NlbmRzbQ--
Boeing sends more than 1,000 layoff notices

I think by now, that everybody knows that the United States is having serious economic problems. I am curious. Why is it legal for private businesses to terminate employees in an effort to save their business from going bankrupt, and it is not legal for government to terminate employees to keep from going bankrupt?