The game mechanics for employees states that they’re not able to cross free area or roads (without crosswalk).
When a terminal is destroyed, the employees which were inside the terminal couldn’t find a way to the next available zone for them, they will get stuck.
The only way I can see to avoid that is to build pathways to them after removing the terminal or to remove the terminal step by step so that the employees have a chance to stay within the allowed area.
On the other side, service car’s on a service vehicle parking lot will cross free area if e.g. the road and the parking lot are removed in this order. I suggest the same approach for employees if they’re on free area. I assume for vehicles it’s easier to find an accessible road tile. Employees would need an entry into the next available building, of course. But I think it would be good if they’d show the same behaviour like the vehicles instead of staying stuck on the map.
Regards