[sneak]

He wasn't punished, he was fired.

You're allowed to revoke consent to an interaction or business relationship at any time. It's not a punishment to anyone else to say "this situation (employing rms) isn't for me and I don't want to be in it any longer".

Firing isn't punitive.

[moistbar]

Firing is absolutely punitive.

[sneak]

A job is an agreement between two parties.

Revoking consent to a mutually-agreed-upon interaction is not punitive. Consent today does not imply consent tomorrow.

[moistbar]

Revoking that consent in response to something one party disagrees with is the definition of punitive.

[sneak]

Not at all. Imagine it in the context of other forms of things people consent (and revoke consent) to.

There's nothing punitive about saying "this doesn't work for me". Sometimes, it's not even about the other party.