Your Role Was Just Eliminated. Here's What to Do Before You Sign Anything.
- Megan Eiss
- Mar 23
- 4 min read
The news landed, and now you're sitting with it. Maybe you saw it coming. Maybe you didn't. Either way, you've just been told your role is gone, and the company is about to hand you a package and a timeline.
Before you do anything else, read this.
U.S. employers announced more than 1.2 million job cuts in 2025, up 58% from the prior year and the highest level since the pandemic. HR Brew If your layoff feels personal, it probably isn't. But that context doesn't change what you need to do right now, and the next few days matter more than most people realize.
The First Thing You're Going to Want to Do (And Shouldn't)
Sign the severance agreement. Get it over with. Stop feeling this way.
Don't.
Most severance packages come with a deadline, often 21 days, sometimes morem and that window exists for a reason. It is time the company is giving you, whether or not they make it feel that way. Use it.
The document in front of you is a legal contract. It likely includes a release of claims, meaning that by signing it, you are giving up your right to sue your employer for anything that happened before your termination. That is not a formality. That is leverage, and you are being asked to give it away in exchange for the offer on the table.
Know what you're trading before you trade it.
What's Actually in That Package (And What's Negotiable)
Severance packages are not standardized. They are offers. Companies make them knowing that most people don't negotiatem and they make them accordingly.
Here's what to look for:
The severance amount itself. The standard formula is often one to two weeks of pay per year of employment, but this is a starting point, not a ceiling. Title, tenure, and the circumstances of your exit all affect what's reasonable to ask for.
Health insurance continuation. COBRA is expensive. Ask whether the company will extend coverage, or cover any portion of your premiums, as part of the package. The best companies want to be humane and don't want people to be without health insurance AND a job.
Equity and unvested stock. If you have unvested shares or options, find out exactly what happens to them. Acceleration provisions exist and some companies will negotiate them. Most people don't ask.
Non-disparagement and non-compete clauses. While these can go both ways, it's a little harder to quiet an entire company. Non-competes vary widely in enforceability and are worth reviewing before you agree to anything.
The reference. What will HR say when someone calls? What will your manager say? Get clarity on this before you sign, not after.
Your Legal Protections Right Now
A layoff is not a clean slate for the company.
If your role was eliminated but people with similar titles, tenure, and performance were retained, and there's a pattern in who was selected, that is worth examining. Layoffs can be used to mask discrimination. The question to ask is not just "was my role eliminated?" but "who else was eliminated, and who wasn't?"
If you are over 40, federal law (the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act) gives you at least 21 days to consider a severance agreement that includes a waiver of age discrimination claims, and seven days to revoke it after signing. That right cannot be waived by the company, regardless of what the paperwork says.
If you signed an arbitration agreement at any point during your employment, that will affect your options. Find it.
The Conversation You Need to Have
At some point, you will need to talk to someone in HR or your manager about the package. Go in knowing what you want, not as a demand, but as a position. You do not have to accept the first offer. You do not have to respond emotionally, even if this feels awful. You do not have to pretend you're not negotiating.
A simple, direct ask sounds like: "I'd like to discuss the terms before I sign. Can we schedule time to talk through a few things?"
That's it. That's the opening move.
What to Do in the Next 48 Hours
Before the shock wears off and before you sign anything:
Gather your documents. Performance reviews, offer letters, any written communication about your role or compensation. Your access to company systems may be cut off quickly. Check the employee handbook for any clauses about severance practices. That's a binding document the company has to stick to.
Write down what happened. Dates, conversations, who said what. Memory fades. Notes don't.
Review your offer letter and any equity agreements. What vesting schedule were you on? What are the post-termination exercise windows on your options?
Talk to someone who can actually read the contract. Not a friend who's been laid off before. Someone with employment law knowledge who can spot what's standard and what isn't.
The Hard Truth
Most people sign what they're given. They're tired, they're embarrassed, they want it to be over. The company is counting on that.
You don't have to be most people.
A layoff is not the end of the negotiation. It is, in many cases, the beginning of it. The terms of how you leave, what you're paid, what you're bound by, what's said about youm are still in play until you sign. That window is yours.
Use it.
