Today was the last day for most of the 120 staffers on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” who left with an early Christmas bonus check and no guarantee of a job when the strike ended.

Each of the 120 staffers received a letter from the Human Resources department at NBC that said,  “If your services are needed, we will contact you.”

Still on the payroll are the exec producers and a skeleton crew to answer phones. Leno was not on hand for the layoffs. Instead, Leno’s assistant notified the staff yesterday that they would get their Christmas bonus early. Leno’s bonuses usually go out the week before Christmas.