The popularity of demotion as a tag may be related to economic conditions. A demotion is a reduction in position or rank within an organization. It is the opposite of a promotion but is not a termination or firing.
For example, someone moved from manager of a business to assistant manager would be considered demoted. Demotions can occur for a variety of reasons, from organizational downsizing to poor performance.
Demotion also can refer to situations in which sports teams are moved to a lower division or tier by their league, although that is more commonly referred to as relegation.