[tmoertel]

When laying people off, better companies will often accelerate vesting so that the departing employees get additional stock. For example, Google does this:

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.

https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/message-ceo/j...

[savant2]

Google did this in 2023, and this blog was a good PR move to make people think they are still doing this today.

[jeffbee]

OK but for most people a 16-week acceleration is still forfeiting 92% of unvested shares.

[meatmanek]

By the same logic, wouldn't 4 months of severance pay be equivalent to forfeiting 92% of salary?

For something paid at regular intervals like RSUs, you really should never be looking at the total value of the grant, and instead think of it in terms of how many shares per paycheck/month/quarter/year you vest.

If you've got a cliff coming up, that's different. I'd be pissed if a company laid me off 11.5 months into a 12 month cliff or a few weeks before an annual bonus and didn't accelerate the vesting / bonus.

[jeffbee]

That's exactly my point. "Losing" your RSUs is the same as losing all your other income that you did not earn because you don't work there any more.

[tmoertel]

Would you rather forfeit 100% of unvested shares? Because that's what you signed up for.

The point is, you're getting shares for 16 weeks + ${years_employment * 2} additional weeks, and you don't have to work those weeks. It's comp that, according to the terms you agreed to when you accepted the job, you are not entitled to. You're getting it as an unearned parting gift.

Yes, it sucks to be laid off. But it sucks a little less if you get a parting gift that for many of the more senior folks will run into six figures.

Would you rather have that parting gift or not? Because some companies don't give you one when when they lay you off.