Business Is Bad and You Need to Cut Costs by Reducing

Business is bad and you need to cut costs by reducing your employees' work hours or by eliminating several positions. You plan a meeting with your employees to discuss this situation.
-Which of the following buffers would be the best choice to use in your opening remarks?

A) In spite of the bad economy, we have managed to maintain our high standards of customer service.
B) Our industry has been less affected by the financial downturn than many others.
C) We appreciate all the hard work you have put into trying to boost our store's performance; however, sales continue to drop significantly.
D) We expected better performance from all of you because that would have improved our sales.
E) I'm so sorry, but, unfortunately, people will lose their jobs today.