There are a number of Biblical passages that are consistent with Francis's teaching. The clearest one is "Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets." You can find it in both Matthew (7) and Luke (6).
So, if you were an employee, would you want your boss to fire you for economic reasons or to merely conclude unclear negotiations? If not, then if you are a boss in that situation, Jesus has clearly made it a sin for you to fire the employee. By the commandment of Jesus himself, you must do to your employee what you'd want done to you in that situation.
For my own part, I wouldn't want to be kept on if that would jeopardize the entire firm, resulting ultimately in far more people losing their jobs. In that kind of situation where the company is struggling even to keep afloat, and everyone's livelihood is on the line, I get that some people may need to be laid off, and if I'm the most expendable, so be it. So, according to Jesus, I'd be morally justified in firing someone in that situation, since I'm doing unto them as I'd have done unto me. But, if it came down to my employer either keeping me on with a small profit, or firing me and having a bigger one, I'd want to be kept on. So, according to Jesus, if I were in that situation I'd be morally compelled to do to the employees what I'd want done to me, meaning that firing people would be a sin.
Of course, that all assumes that you recognize Jesus (or Francis) as a great moral authority. If you think you are more moral than they are, you may come to different conclusions.