To improve efficiency, the company decided to rationalize its operations by laying off staff and merging departments.

rationalize 是动词，由词根 ratio（比例、比率）和后缀 -alize（使...化）组成，字面意思是"使符合比例"。在这里引申为"使合理化"，指通过调整使企业运营更加高效有序。