[jyl]

Your family, your business, and the livelihoods of your other employees come first.

No employee has the right to lifetime employment. Every employee has the obligation to make themselves too valuable to let go, and to have set aside enough savings to make it to the next job. Firing them now is better than in a year when we're in a recession.

Hopefully you'd previously indicated to them that you were unhappy with/expected more from their work. Doesn't mean they had to understand it - often people refuse to hear what they don't want to hear.

Do take precautions about the husband.