It's possible. Although to do a startup you need seed capital, so if the laid-off people were sensible and saved money they could have various exit strategies like a startup in mind. But not all were made to work for themselves, some would rather be 'intrapreneurs' and make good money working for someone else. Some people will not change that and are scouring job offerings as I speak.
I think it will. Here are results from out hacker news for staring a business. Hope these provide some inspiration.