[Spivak]

I don't really see it as sugarcoating, this is way better than the alternative. They're giving their employees a generous heads up, offering an incentive to anyone who finds other employment, and people who really don't want to leave likely won't have to.

[erichurkman]

And they get to structure who leaves and when. You can wind down projects responsibly, shift resources over time, train people on new tasks. Far less disruptive than a sudden layoff.

[root_axis]

Great point. This kind of arrangement assures that the exiting employee will be happy to cooperate with training their replacement in good faith.