Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Warren Buffett, said, "there's no question that waves of layoffs hurt people". Still, he asked: "what would our country be if we kept everyone on the farm?" Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg Warren Buffett's partnership with 3G Capital, a job-cutting buyout firm that helped him do some of his biggest deals, has hit a nerve with shareholders of the billionaire's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The first question asked at Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday came from a Texas shareholder who said he was "suffering heartburn" because of 3G's "brutal" practices at the companies it acquires.