Many companies are terrified of being sued for firing and will resort to passive-aggressive behavior instead. Most stuff like this is settled out of court so I

Many companies are terrified of being sued for firing and will resort to passive-aggressive behavior instead. Most stuff like this is settled out of court so I don't know what the real odds and risks are but anecdotally I've been in a few orgs that weren't shy about firing at all, and didn't suffer for it.