The corporate job where I'm at right now has this exact problem. HR has made termination require a LONG process that starts with a 6 month "performance initiati

The corporate job where I'm at right now has this exact problem. HR has made termination require a LONG process that starts with a 6 month "performance initiative plan" before enough data can be collected to fire someone. And even then it requires a tremendous amount of executive level approval. We've had lots of incidents in the past where older employees would play the "I have a health issue" card to avoid being fired. Just to avoid getting sued, the company would capitulate and "promote or move" them away from the manager who didn't want them. Part of the problem is that as companies get bigger and their pockets get deeper, an entirely new class of employee enters which is low skill, highly cunning, and completely untrustworthy. Unfortunately, in my experience, most of these individuals always fit a certain profile: Middle Aged Men (50+) Low level of education Most of these people are hired for two reasons: 1) Need someone for grunt work (support/maintenance) 2) Need someone that will accept a very low salary Once a few incidents happen, HR and legal issues take over and begin the stranglehold on operational efficiency that infects large organizations.