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Getting laid off and shown the door immediately after (plus having your access to systems and buildings revoked) is very common. The reason for this is because

Getting laid off and shown the door immediately after (plus having your access to systems and buildings revoked) is very common. The reason for this is because the HR person drafting this policy probably had someone take advantage of the window between when someone is told they are laid off and when they are actually terminated, and so the policy gets made to reduce that liability. It sucks for the 90% of people who wouldn't do anything, but that's how it works. Imagine getting told you're your laid off, then your laptop handed in before you even leave the meeting room, then a security guard or HR person escorts you to your desk to pack your things in a box before they walk you out the building. Mind you, you'd probably still get some severance bonus or keep getting paid for weeks or months, but you just wouldn't be expected (or able) to work.

Aeolun 5y ago
I dunno, as a European that sounds absolutely mental to me. How about transfer of knowledge and ownership of projects?
- User23 5y ago
  In the USA a layoff is usually a euphemism for termination with cause that can’t be supported in court. Because of the general litigiousness and at-will nature of most employment contracts here it usually means the employer offers a token severance payment in exchange for signing a general release.
  - Treblemaker 5y ago
    Every layoff I've been subject to (four of them) involved a large number of people, and were related to declining business or transfer of business activity to another division. And my last layoff resulted in a significant severance package. Not sure the claim of "usually" can be substantiated.
    - User23 5y ago
      Where I’ve worked what you’ve describing is called a reorganization.
- kevinmchugh 5y ago
  Layoffs usually mean something is wrong with the company or division. Zillow is laying off tons of employees after making bad decisions. Knowledge transfer is less important than survival (apparently).
- mark-r 5y ago
  In the U.S. sometimes your first hint of an impending layoff is when you're asked to train your replacement. And sometimes the layoff means the project you were working on is being cancelled. My own most recent experience is that the project wasn't cancelled, but it was pared back to life support.

Aeolun 5y ago

I dunno, as a European that sounds absolutely mental to me. How about transfer of knowledge and ownership of projects?

User23 5y ago
In the USA a layoff is usually a euphemism for termination with cause that can’t be supported in court. Because of the general litigiousness and at-will nature of most employment contracts here it usually means the employer offers a token severance payment in exchange for signing a general release.
- Treblemaker 5y ago
  Every layoff I've been subject to (four of them) involved a large number of people, and were related to declining business or transfer of business activity to another division. And my last layoff resulted in a significant severance package. Not sure the claim of "usually" can be substantiated.
  - User23 5y ago
    Where I’ve worked what you’ve describing is called a reorganization.
kevinmchugh 5y ago
Layoffs usually mean something is wrong with the company or division. Zillow is laying off tons of employees after making bad decisions. Knowledge transfer is less important than survival (apparently).
mark-r 5y ago
In the U.S. sometimes your first hint of an impending layoff is when you're asked to train your replacement. And sometimes the layoff means the project you were working on is being cancelled. My own most recent experience is that the project wasn't cancelled, but it was pared back to life support.