The layoff playbook: severance, week one, and what to say

If you've just been laid off — or you've heard the rumours that one is coming — read this once now and again the day it happens. Layoffs feel personal but follow a script, and you can run a counter-script that protects your money, your network, your healthcare, and your next job.

If you suspect one is coming

You almost never get certainty before the meeting. But there are signals — hiring frozen, an outside firm in the building, a sudden "all-hands next Thursday" with no agenda, a budget that visibly disappeared. If you're seeing two or three of these, you have days, not weeks, to do quiet prep:

• Export your personal contacts and any work you can take ethically (don't take anything proprietary — IP claims after a layoff are rare but not zero).
• Take screenshots of every part of your offer letter, equity grants, vesting schedule, PTO balance, and bonus eligibility — locally on your phone, not on a work device.
• Quietly DM five trusted people at other companies: "Hey — heads up, things are shaky here. Wanted to make sure we're connected outside of LinkedIn. Mind if I add you on Signal/WhatsApp?"
• Refresh your CV file — not your LinkedIn yet, just the document. The night of, you'll be in no shape to write.
• Do not announce, joke about, or hint at any of this on internal Slack.

First 24 hours: do nothing irreversible

1. Don't sign anything in the meeting. "I want to take this home and review with someone" is always allowed and never held against you. The standard severance packet has a review window written into it (US is often 21–45 days; check your specific document).
2. Save what you're allowed to save: your contact list (export to personal email if your contract permits), your portfolio of work, your performance reviews, and any written praise.
3. Take a screenshot of your offer letter, equity grants, vesting schedule, PTO balance, and bonus eligibility before you lose access. You will need these to negotiate.
4. Tell three people privately. Not LinkedIn. Three people who can give you intros, not sympathy.
5. Don't drink to cope. The decisions you make in the next two weeks set the next year.

Negotiate the severance — yes, you can

Severance packages are written assuming you'll sign immediately. Most companies have built-in room to add 2–6 weeks, extend healthcare, or accelerate equity. The lever is asking calmly and in writing.

What gives you leverage: tenure (longer = more), seniority (more legal exposure if you push back), a clean record (no PIP), and timing (mass layoffs vs an individual cut). What kills your leverage: signing before you ask, threatening litigation publicly, or making it personal with the manager who told you.

What to ask for, in priority order

1. More weeks of pay. Even 2 extra weeks can land. "Given my tenure and the timing of this, can we move from X weeks to Y?"
2. Healthcare paid through end of severance period (US). Don't assume it auto-extends — companies often quietly cut benefits the month of termination.
3. Equity acceleration or extended exercise window. For options especially — a 90-day window often expires worthless. Ask for 12 months, accept 6.
4. Earned but unpaid bonus, prorated for the year so far. This is sometimes negotiable even when policy says it isn't.
5. Outplacement / career services as cash you can spend yourself, not a vendor seat at a service you won't use.
6. A reference letter agreed in writing. Not just "feel free to use me" — a written one you have on file.
7. Removal of any non-compete, or narrowing of its scope. Many states (California, Minnesota, others) make these unenforceable anyway, but a written waiver removes ambiguity.

Health insurance: don't get caught

In the US, your employer health insurance ends on a specific date written into the severance — often the last day of the month you were laid off, sometimes through the severance period if you negotiated it. Three options after that:

• COBRA: keep your existing plan but pay the full premium yourself. Often $500–2,000/month for a family. Expensive but no gap, and the loss-of-coverage event triggers special enrollment elsewhere.
• ACA marketplace (healthcare.gov): subsidies kick in if your income drops, which yours just did. Often dramatically cheaper than COBRA. You have 60 days from job loss to enroll without penalty.
• Spouse's plan: layoff is a qualifying event, so you can join their employer plan within 30 days even if it's not open enrollment.

Outside the US, health coverage usually doesn't break with the job — but check your country's specifics if you've been on private employer-paid cover.

If you're on a visa

US H-1B holders: you have a 60-day grace period after termination to find new sponsorship, transfer your visa, change status, or leave. The clock starts the day employment ends, not the day severance ends. Get a lawyer involved in week 1 — this isn't a DIY situation.

UK Skilled Worker visa: you have 60 days to find a new sponsor or change visa category. Some employers will sponsor a transfer even mid-process. EU has its own variations by country. The pattern: visas are time-bombs, not paperwork — start the lawyer conversation before you start the job search.

Money: how long is the runway

Within the first week, write down three numbers: your monthly burn (rent, food, insurance, the basics), your liquid cash, and your severance + unemployment income. Divide cash + severance by burn to get your real runway. Most people overestimate by 3–4 months because they forget healthcare goes from $0 to $1,500/month.

• If runway > 6 months: you can be choosy. Don't take the first offer.
• If runway 3–6 months: keep the bar high but start interviews in week 2, not week 4.
• If runway < 3 months: consider a contract role to extend the runway while you keep looking for the right full-time role. Don't panic-accept a wrong-fit job — that's a 12-month problem.

If you have unvested equity

Layoff = you forfeit unvested equity, full stop, unless you negotiated otherwise (rare for non-executive roles). What you can do:

• Ask for partial acceleration in severance — "the next vest cliff" or "6 months of additional vest." Lower-percentage probability of yes, low cost to ask.
• If you have vested options, calculate the exercise cost and the tax bill before deciding to exercise. The post-termination window is usually 90 days; missing it = options expire worthless. If exercising costs more than you can absorb, it may not be worth it.
• If the company is private and there's a recent tender offer, that's the cleanest exit for vested options. Ask if one is happening before you exercise.

Week one: the right kind of busy

The instinct is to apply to 50 jobs in three days. Don't. The first week is for setup, not volume — momentum without direction is just noise.

• Update CV and LinkedIn — but don't publish yet. Get them right first.
• Build a target list of 30 companies. Not roles — companies. Roles change, companies don't.
• Map your warm network: anyone who could intro you to anyone on the target list.
• File for unemployment immediately if eligible — backdating is rarely allowed and the first cheque takes 2–4 weeks.
• Get on at least one short walk a day. Sounds soft; isn't.

What to say when people ask

You will say it 80 times in the next two months. Have one sentence and don't apologise.

If you find a job in week 2 — don't take it

Counter-intuitive but consistently true: the first offer that comes in is rarely the right one. It's usually a recruiter who already had you on a list, looking to fill an opening fast. The roles that come from intentional conversations in weeks 3–6 are nearly always better in title, comp, and fit.

If a role really is excellent and time-pressured, take it. But default to: get to at least three live processes before you accept anything. Optionality is leverage, including for the offer you eventually take.

30-day plan

1. Days 1–7: Setup. CV, LinkedIn, target list, severance signed, healthcare sorted, visa lawyer engaged if needed.
2. Days 8–14: Conversations. 15 warm intros booked. No applications yet — let conversations surface the right roles.
3. Days 15–21: First applications, only to top of target list. Tailored cover note for each.
4. Days 22–30: Second wave + first interviews start. Calendar discipline matters now — block prep time before every loop.