There's no way 25% of their total employee base are "checked out". Yes, a bunch of folks close to retirement or fed up with working there will take the deal. But with the job market as it is, a whole lot will roll the dice on keeping their job through the inevitable follow-up round of layoffs.

This is just an optics-friendly way to soften the blow of 25% layoffs.

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noident 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

In my experience it's more the case that 70% of employees are checked out

	▲	warmedcookie 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		This is my experience too, although probably not checked out enough to take a voluntary severance. Most people just want to chill and work at a steady pace. That kind of work ethic is fine for most industries, but not tech companies unfortunately.

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compiler-guy 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It is much better than optics friendly, because it gives the affected people a chance to determine their own destiny.

Layoffs absolutely suck, and there is likely more pain on the way, but if the alternatives are voluntary buyouts + layoffs vs plain layoffs, the first is much better.