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Comment by thebradbain | Hacker News Reader

I mean, if you're a huge fan of him you'd probably stay.

If you're not, you'd probably stay for the severance package, and do absolutely no work in the meantime. No company or recruiter will be holding the fact you were fired against you if/when you're swept away in the layoffs.

If you genuinely like your job there and don't feel strongly about Musk either way, that's probably the toughest situation, and you should come to terms with the fact that even if you keep your job at Twitter it will likely feel like an entirely different workplace in a couple months.

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I'm sort of a fan but I still think I'd be leaving - he has shown open disdain for the status quo there, including the rank and file.

If their status quo is reflective of their product, then it is a heaping pile of shit

So everyone who is canned will get a severance package? Not sure where this expectation comes from. Does everyone get an employment contract with a golden parachute these days?

If the layoffs are large all he need do is give 60 days notice to those being terminated.

For many jobs, notice periods end up being given as severance packages. They keep paying you but don't want you to show up.

In many cases a severance package is attached to an NDA and non-disparagement agreement, or whatever else an employer may want to protect against ex-employees doing. In exchange for signing, the employee gets X weeks/months pay, or a bonus of $X, etc.

Well, California mandates at least 3 months *pay for salaried employees in many layoff scenarios. There’s some further complexities, but I imagine most employees at Twitter in SF qualify.

*technically, notice. But companies can opt to pay 3 months pay in lieu of the notice, if they want to cut ties immediately.

I think one can acknowledge Musk's entrepreneurship, ability to hire top talent, and risk-taking while at the same time pointing out his immaturity and petulance.

I don't know about being a fan of the guy, he's pretty erratic, he's also done some cool stuff. But even if I was a huge fan of the guy, no way would I ever work for him.

Generally severance is structured such that it's voluntary, and comes earlier than layoffs. You don't get a big package if you wait for a layoff to be fired. That produces a moral hazard that encourages exactly the kind of fraud you're suggesting.

(And yes, what you're suggesting is straight up fraud.)

I dont agree that it's fraud.

That is not fraud at all. By that logic, not giving anything but your absolute 100% blood and sweat to your job (no matter how menial) is fraud.

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