These are two different situations that get lumped together, and they deserve different handling. A layoff — a company reducing headcount, a restructuring, a role eliminated — reflects a business decision, not a judgment about you specifically. Being let go for performance or fit is a different, more personal situation, and pretending otherwise in an interview tends to backfire if it comes up in a reference check.
If it was a genuine layoff: say so plainly, with real context
Layoffs are common enough now that they carry little stigma on their own — how you talk about it is what actually matters. A simple, factual line works: "My role was eliminated as part of a company-wide restructuring in [month] — about 15% of the team was affected." That specific detail (a real number, a real reason) reads as far more credible than a vague "the company was going through some changes." If you know your former employer will confirm this was a layoff and not a performance exit, saying so directly removes any doubt.
If it was performance or fit-related: brief, honest, forward-looking
This is harder to talk about, and the instinct to either over-explain or deflect blame entirely usually makes it worse, not better. A short, honest framing that takes real ownership without excessive self-criticism tends to land better than either extreme: "It wasn't the right fit, and looking back, I underestimated how different the pace and expectations were from my previous role. I've since [specific thing you changed or learned] and made sure to ask more direct questions about expectations in interviews since." The goal isn't a confession — it's a short, credible answer that shows you learned something real, then a pivot back to what you bring now.
Don't volunteer more than what's asked
A brief, confident answer to a direct question is usually enough — most interviewers ask once, get a reasonable answer, and move on to what they actually care about, which is whether you can do the job in front of you now. Over-explaining past what was actually asked tends to invite more follow-up questions than a short, complete answer does.
On the resume itself: keep it simple
The resume doesn't need to explain why a role ended — that's a conversation for the interview, not a line item. A clean end date is enough. If there's a real gap afterward worth addressing, that's a separate, shorter conversation about the gap itself, not about why the previous role ended.