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When we call them "job cuts," they may sound a little more impersonal, and a little less painful.

But the bottom line is that these are people, with bills to pay and families to feed.

So it is with Greensboro-based United Guaranty, which announced Tuesday that 160 of its workers in North Carolina will lose their jobs.

The news was hardly a surprise, given the recent struggles of United Guaranty and its parent company, the teetering insurance behemoth AIG. And in the end, the cuts may help the company regain firmer footing.

But they will hurt all the same.

With 950 workers worldwide, United Guaranty has been one of the precious few remaining companies with headquarters in Greensboro.

And from the very top down, the company has been uncommonly bullish on this city.

United Guaranty's former CEO, Billy Nutt, was heavily involved in civic affairs, as have been many of the company's 500 employees here.

But Nutt, who had headed the company for 30 years, was replaced recently with a new CEO from AIG headquarters, Eric Martinez.

These things happen, especially in a hemorrhaging economy that saw United Guaranty lose $2.5 billion last year and another $483 million in the first quarter of 2009.

As for the ripple effects, the last thing the city needs right now is more job losses, especially jobs that pay well and attract bright people.

Greensboro also has seen a steady erosion of corporate leadership in recent years. More and more of that weight has fallen onto the shoulders of the city's charitable foundations, which have done a yeoman's job. But the model isn't sustainable in the long run.

Business and government leaders need to step up, more often and more forcefully.

Meanwhile, it isn't clear what happens next for United Guaranty. AIG could keep or sell the subsidiary. Nutt has said he believes spinning off the company and selling it might be the best option.

The first order of business, of course, is staying alive.