| Employment contracts are often written for periods of 4 years and include vesting schedules. It wouldn't be possible to lower a base salary of an employee without termination their employment contract by laying them off. Google pays up to 24 months of compensation in the form of a severance package includes salary, vacation pay, bonuses and accelerated GSU vesting to laid off employees. The minimum compensation for a laid off employee at Google in the US: "We’ll pay employees during the full notification period (minimum 60 days). We’ll also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU vesting. We’ll pay 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time. We’ll be offering 6 months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected. Outside the US, we’ll support employees in line with local practices. " After layoffs, it's hard to get comparable high compensation offers at other companies. |