We have a relatively flat structure here. There are three levels above me. My direct supervisor, her boss, and then COO.

The question of do you trust manager X is interesting. Yes, I trust them, but at the same time I don't. It is in the best interest of a corporation to keep quiet about terminations. I cant speak for other states, but here it is "Work at Will". A company can fire you for no reason, just as we are able to simply walk away from our jobs. And it is for this reason that management doesn't tip its hand.

When I was a consultant I was brought into a company (now gone, go figure) to fill a vacancy that was created. The new VP for IT was brought in to "clean up" the dept, and rather than cherry pick the talent and cut the dead wood, she simply fired every single employee en masse (about 50 people). Had them escorted out the door by security. That's when myself and about 3 dozen consultants were brought in. Her stated rationale was she didn't have the time, nor desire to sift through the employees. She also wanted to A) set precedent, B) start with a clean slate. Do I think she went overboard, yes. But unfortunately, we never got to see if she would succeed, 9-11 came around and all consulting contracts were terminated, and the company collapsed about 3 months later.

Oh, and the comment about senior level sacrificing a junior member for their personal gain.. I think you're being overly optimistic. I've seen plenty of instances when the sacrificing was merely for amusement, personal sentiment, (corporate & public sector) politics, and/or plain old fashioned mean spiritedness.