While I'm sure this is being used as a "gentler" term for being fired (and I'm sure perception will catch up as it did for terms like "opportunity"), I can think of one case where this is different from being fired. I've seen it happen at a couple of companies where someone high-ranking suddenly "retired" or "resigned" and it was obvious that it was a face-saving way to get them out the door. I could see the word "resignated" being used for these face-saving faux-resignation/retirements.
This is similar to the usage of 被 in Chinese slang. E.g. 自杀 (suicide) turns into 被自杀 (was suicided, with the implication of foul play). 失踪 (disappearance) -> 被失踪 (was disappeared).
Your comment reminded me of the phrase 炒鱿鱼, which means to fire someone. I googled it to find a good explanation. This page[0] says the meaning is from:
to fry a squid --> fried squids curl up --> to roll up the bedclothes and leave --> to be fired
And of course, it can be used passively with 被: 我被炒鱿鱼了