My company was acquired recently and there’s concerns that most of my department(digital innovation) will be laid off before the deal is finalized for cost restructuring purposes. HR and my boss have assured my team that there will be no layoffs anytime soon, yet have told each team in my org about the (very) generous severance package in the event of a layoff. At my level, severance package would be 1.5x base, stock, and performance bonus(!!). I’m currently looking for a new role at FAANG/UAL but am wondering if I should stick it out and wait to be laid off instead. The thing is, I can’t tell when the layoffs will take place, so I don’t know when to start ramping up again on job search. I also don’t know if I’ll be one of the folks who is let go, since I have a lot of domain knowledge of my product group, their system design, and complex regulatory constraints on our tech that would be very difficult/costly to replace. Should I stop searching in the expectation that I will be laid off, or continue searching, land an offer I want, but potentially walk away from $300K+ in severance?
Interview and make the start date a few months from now so you can still get fired and take severance while getting a break
Get your resume together and LinkedIn updates. Start conversations with people in FAANG teams. Reach out and let them know you’re looking but not ready to pull the trigger, and you’d like to learn more about the org. Build the relationships so you’re ready to go.
Thanks all! So it seems like the consensus is to keep looking, but give a start date in 3 months or so. By Q4 layoffs should be announced or have already begun. I got a no offer, recycle from AMZ, and my recruiter is shopping around other teams to see if I can re-interview throughout next 6 months. How will I know when the writing is on the wall to mentally prepare myself?
How about this. Start prepping, but don’t pull the trigger till you’ve been laid off. If you’re gonna get a 300k package, you’ll have plenty of time to do interviews and find a new job. Wait until it’s a for sure thing, in the mean time just leetcode, prep yourself and take some time off.
They might offer you a package to leave, would recommend that
Would this be different from severance? Like similar to a ‘quit with this $XXK package or get PIP’d’
They won’t PIP you. They might just say they’re downsizing and offer you a good amount to voluntary leave. Please stay and take the 300k in severance. Hell even 30k would be nice.