I think the down-votes are unfair, but still... It is hard to tell without knowledge of Swiss Labor Law, but if it is anyhow similar to my own country's there

I think the down-votes are unfair, but still... It is hard to tell without knowledge of Swiss Labor Law, but if it is anyhow similar to my own country's there most be different procedures for "sacking" and "letting go" people. You sack people that is either grossly incompetent, in open contempt of workplace discipline or breaking the law. The process is highly confrontational because the former employee will be left with no social security and a big black spot on their record. Government puts the burden of proof on the employer to demonstrate that this is a sacking case. You may let go anyone at any time whenever business interests are no longer aligned with keeping the employee around. You have to pay severance though, so employers do not like this option. The laws are the way they are because in the past employers would sack anyone on a wimp. Nowadays, some employers will get rid of people that are marginally undesirable (like underperformers, or pregnant/nursing women, or idealists who express concern for the boss's less than pristine practices) by putting the employee in a frustrating no-win situation and letting them quit on their own. == So, if Switzerland is anywhere like this, or if Russia is anywhere like this, you can anything but expect that being asked "why don't you just quit" will trigger flight-or-fight mode on an employee. At this point it hardly matters who's right and who's wrong. This is not how I would expect a competent manager to handle a delicate situation like this, though I can see how someone being overly candid could fall in this mess by accident.