lay off vs discontinue

lay off and discontinue both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
lay off	No	No	Yes	No
discontinue	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, lay off and discontinue are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of lay off include cease, give up, quit, stop.

lay off (verb)	discontinue (verb)
dismiss, usually for economic reasons	prevent completion
put an end to a state or an activity	put an end to a state or an activity
	come to or be at an end