Being fired is not a "generous payout"; colleagues will hopefully remember that the company got rid of an underperformer, without being bitter about their stock

Being fired is not a "generous payout"; colleagues will hopefully remember that the company got rid of an underperformer, without being bitter about their stock. The parable of the workers in the vineyard comes to mind. On the other hand, a boss screwing an employee over stock, for any reason, would set a terrible precedent of greed and untrustworthiness.