Though it’s a bummer to listen to about extra layoffs, I additionally really feel plenty of hope and pleasure for individuals who have misplaced their jobs for 2 causes.
First, there’s the good thing about getting a severance bundle. Think about getting a severance bundle value six months of wage after which discovering a brand new job two months later for comparable pay. Should you do, you should have had two months off after which get to earn double pay for 4 months!
Second, the sting of getting laid off may lastly propel people to take a leap of religion and begin their very own enterprise, return to highschool, or enter a brand new subject of labor. Compelled change could be a enormous blessing!
Studying to adapt to an uncomfortable scenario will solely make you stronger. Getting laid off may very well be among the best issues that would ever occur to you. I do know it was for me.
Patiently Ready To Inform You About The Mass Severance Package deal Negotiation Story
After sending out one in every of my weekly newsletters, I received an e-mail response from a reader. He talked about he was laid off from his Massive Tech Co. Nonetheless, he additionally shared a severance bundle negotiation story I had by no means heard of earlier than.
I’ve truly been sitting on this story since early 2020 to guard the reader. He agreed to let me instantly share his severance bundle negotiation story if I didn’t share the place he labored and his final title.
Nonetheless, as somebody who negotiated my very own severance again in 2012, issues can get dicey when deferred compensation is concerned. Till all of the severance bundle cash hits your checking account, you’re nonetheless at your earlier employer’s mercy.
Even after you obtain all of your severance cash, it’s finest to remain quiet for some time. Should you do one thing to jeopardize the popularity of the agency, the agency may conceivably attempt to get that severance bundle a reimbursement!
The $40 Million Mass Severance Package deal Negotiation
Right here’s the e-mail from a Monetary Samurai publication subscriber.
Hey Sam,
Thanks for the publication and severance negotiation e-book. I purchased it with a plan to make use of it to engineer my layoff within the subsequent yr, however issues modified. Sadly, I used to be laid off at Massive Corp earlier than I may begin negotiating a severance.
Though this was dangerous timing, I did use the arrogance and a few delicate methods in your e-book to get a much bigger payout for Restricted Inventory Models (RSUs), which I’d have missed out on by a few month.
If you wish to hear the story however promise to not use my final title or firm, I’ll inform ya the story.
I used to be initially going to attempt negotiating getting my RSUs paid out only for myself. In the long run, I ended up campaigning to get the RSUs paid out for the two,000 of us that have been let go!
The typical worth of the RSUs was $20,000 per particular person, so this was a $40 million ask. And I received it for everybody. Thanks!!!
Regards,
Bob
Holy crap!
We all know the largest severance bundle ever was by the ex-founder and CEO of WeWork who walked away with about $1 billion. However that’s a particular case as a result of the man was the founder and was in a position to benefit from SoftBank’s foolish cash.
Till Bob’s e-mail, I had by no means heard of or thought in regards to the technique of negotiating a greater severance bundle for different colleagues as nicely.
Subsequently, I requested Bob to elaborate how this $40 million severance negotiation occurred. Right here’s his clarification.
How One Man Negotiated A $40 Million Severance Package deal For two,000 Colleagues
I labored at Massive Corp for the final six years doing software program. I used to be solely staying for the cash and advantages till my daughter was in faculty.
A brand new VP was employed to move all of software program. As is often the case with a brand new Kahuna, heads have been going to roll. My group’s boss and different bosses immediately began ‘retiring’ with out warning. They every gave 1-week notices.
In huge company gamesmanship, this actually meant {that a} new greater fish had are available, fires those that aren’t behind his new technique, and places in his personal individuals from earlier firms.
I knew the writing was on the wall. I started scheming my very own exit for a while when Massive Corp introduced that our complete group and others could be lower – about 2000 individuals.
Blasted! They beat me to it!
New CEO, New Imaginative and prescient
Now on the similar time this was taking place, we had a brand new CEO who was very clear. He needed to get the tradition aligned with him. We even had an enormous HR marketing campaign about reality and transparency within the office.
The brand new CEO had all-hands conferences with all the workers however failed to say these layoffs in any respect. One other subtext is that Massive Corp is old-fashioned and has a extremely fear-based tradition. Everybody thinks they may get lower on a regular basis. It’s actually a weird and unusual place.
Like I mentioned earlier, I remained at my job for the cash – banking and saving 65% of my take-home pay.
So Massive Corp finally introduced that we’d all be laid off and pay a good severance. We even had just a few weeks’ discover to be able to attempt to discover one other inside job earlier than our precise final day. That actually by no means occurs. It’s only a widespread courtesy gesture to decrease blowback.
The Quest To Get Staff Their Restricted Inventory Models
Every little thing about my severance was acceptable, besides that my final day was 4 weeks earlier than our subsequent spherical of RSUs vested. This may suck as a result of it was appreciable – about $24,000 to me.
Plus the previous few years Massive Corp had begun to present extra RSUs as a substitute of money raises – so this was deferred wage in a method.
I requested HR in regards to the RSUs and instructed them properly that it wasn’t truthful. As anticipated they mentioned, “robust shit, dangerous timing” in essence. Hmmmmmm. Properly, that does suck.
Negotiating A Severance Immediately With The CEO
So with the methods out of your e-book and the arrogance that it gave me, I made a decision to pitch my concept on to the CEO. On the finish of the day, he was the one one who may make the decision.
I wrote the CEO an e-mail telling him that the layoff timing was horrible and that we deserved these RSUs for these causes:
1) We have been only a few weeks away from getting them. Is that this who ‘we’ are as an organization? (angle = not truthful)
2) Many people got these as a substitute for greater deserved raises in the previous few years. (angle = this was our cash already)
3) The corporate has simply had the very best monetary yr and quarter within the firm’s historical past. Those being laid-off helped us ALL get there. (angle = we’re getting laid off however helped you get an enormous bonus as CEO)
Then I instructed the CEO that I used to be sending the message on to him as a result of he may get the job finished and that I appreciated the tradition of reality and transparency – and ended it with “In Solidarity.” Heh 😀
All this stuff have been meant to be arguments which you could’t actually argue with as not true. To counteract my factors, all he’d must do was say ’robust shit dude’.
Energy In Numbers By Organizing
Anyway, I despatched him the e-mail and I heard nothing again for 2 weeks. Then I started to gather an inventory of all laid-off workers and wrote them an e-mail making an attempt to get all of us to signal a marketing campaign to present us the RSUs. Strategically, I didn’t ship out the e-mail as a result of I knew they have been watching me. I simply needed to have them observe my intent.
My grasp plan was to have all 2,000 workers e-mail the CEO and head of HR on the similar time. I actually simply needed them to sweat.
Then out of the blue, we received an e-mail from HR saying that as a one-time change to coverage, we’d be given the money equal of our 2020 RSUs upon leaving.
This was stunning to me since with 2000 workers and a median of $20,000 RSUs every, this was a $40 million marketing campaign that labored!
The Change Of Coronary heart
So I by no means received a response from the CEO, however I wrote him an e-mail thanking him for the RSUs. He lastly did reply and mentioned that I used to be welcome and thanked me for the earlier e-mail.
I spoke with HR earlier than leaving and requested them in regards to the change of coronary heart and all they mentioned was that it got here from the very prime. Uh huh. Yeah OK.
The timing was additionally vital. We have been instructed we have been getting laid off two weeks earlier than the COVID-19 shutdown. I’m positive that had I waited even two weeks to marketing campaign for our RSUs, the reply would have been, completely no friggin’ method.
The marketing campaign labored and most people who benefited by no means even knew what I did to assist them out. Good karma I hope!
A Lesson In Asking For What You Deserve
Bob’s story about negotiating a mass severance bundle is unbelievable. It reveals him:
- Being strategic and resourceful by studying How To Engineer Your Layoff. You could find something you need on the web should you look. Use the code “saveten” to avoid wasting $10.
- Having the braveness to ask for what he thinks he deserves. He may have simply simply accepted his severance bundle, just like the overwhelming majority of individuals do.
- Demonstrating sufficient emotional intelligence to correspond with HR and the CEO in a respectful method. It’s simple to go on the offensive and get emotionally charged while you really feel disrespected.
- Skillfully crafting an unassailable argument if proven to the general public. Bob knew from studying Monetary Samurai, one of many the reason why negotiating a severance is feasible is because of absolute reputational destruction.
- Understanding the facility of group and the energy in numbers. He knew he may get plenty of different individuals on his aspect.
Studying the way to negotiate nicely is without doubt one of the most vital expertise in life. A negotiation is concerned in all the pieces vital – from getting a promotion to getting your children to go to mattress in an inexpensive method.
Be taught to empathize with different individuals by understanding the place they’re coming from. Empathy entails making individuals really feel heard, seen, understood, and cherished. Should you do, you’re going to get a lot farther than you ever thought doable!
Reader Questions And Ideas
Have you ever heard of 1 particular person negotiating a mass severance bundle earlier than? Should you’ve been lately laid off, what was the expertise like? How huge of a severance bundle did you get?
For extra nuanced private finance content material, be part of 55,000+ others and join the free Monetary Samurai publication and posts by way of e-mail. Monetary Samurai is without doubt one of the largest independently-owned private finance websites that began in 2009.
