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Amid the mass layoffs in tech and retail in the past month, YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan sent out a recent internal memo that he’s also looking to lay off employees—who volunteer. Mohan details how YouTube is undergoing a major AI-focused reorganization and introduces a “Voluntary Exit Program” with a severance package to eligible YouTube employees. This voluntary exit deal has been couched as an opportunity for employees, but it’s really just a buyout. Companies have long used this strategy as a way to reduce headcount, usually to avert traditional layoffs. For employees approaching retirement, voluntary severance may be a great opportunity, a wonderful deus ex machina late-career plot twist. But many employees worry that saying “no, thank you” now may mean an involuntary layoff later on. So how do you decide if you should take a voluntary layoff? Here are four questions to consider. What’s happening in your industry? YouTube has offered its employees a buyout because of AI restructuring. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter.Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Duke University created a voluntary severance program in April 2025 in response to federal funding cuts. UnitedHealthCare invited an undisclosed number of employees to take part in its Voluntary Resignation Separation Program in early 2025 in response to the financially tumultuous fallout of the murder of its CEO, Brian Thompson, and to a 2024 cyberattack that cost the company $3 billion. In all of these cases, the organizations are offering buyouts because of larger technological, political, and economic forces. The decisions are about more than just what’s happening in the organization itself—which may indicate that more changes are coming as the industries adapt. But not all buyouts are prompted by larger industry forces. That’s why it’s important to understand the bigger trends. Then you can better predict whether voluntary layoffs are likely to be the end of your company’s reduction in force—or just the beginning. Typically, voluntary buyout packages are more generous than the kinds of severance packages that come with involuntary layoffs. What are your employment prospects? The best-case scenario for a voluntary layoff is either stepping straight into retirement or having a new job already lined up. Then your severance package becomes an unexpected pot of gold in the path you were already walking. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t that lucky. So if you weren’t planning on leaving before the buyout was announced, what prospects would you have if you took the voluntary severance? One of the upsides of voluntary layoffs is the opt-in window. Typically, employers offer a window of several weeks to several months to opt-in to voluntary severance, giving you some time to put out feelers for other potential job prospects. This can let you see what the job market is like before you make your decision. What’s in the severance package? While the specific severance package will vary from one organization to another, voluntary layoff programs typically make the buyout a tempting carrot in order to avoid more painful involuntary layoffs later on. Often, these severance packages will give volunteers several weeks’ or months’ worth of base pay, depending on the number of years of service. (And depending on which state you live in, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits once the severance pay has run out.) For instance, when Duke University offered voluntary severance earlier this year, it gave volunteers a compensation package equal to one week of severance pay, multiplied by years of service, up to a maximum of 26 weeks. advertisement But cash may not be the only benefit in your severance package. Your employer may also offer to pay health insurance benefits for a few months, provide career counseling, or offer financial planning services to help with the transition. What do you want? Learning that your employer is offering voluntary layoffs is stressful, but it doesn’t mean the company has all the cards. The organization wants something—a reduction in force—which means you have leverage. Because you can help give that to them, if they give you what you want. So just like when you were hired, figure out what you want and decide what you’re willing to compromise to get it. Don’t assume the severance package your employer offers is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. Start with the severance compensation package. Just because the severance pay offered by the voluntary layoff program is capped at a certain amount doesn’t mean you can’t ask for more. The company is willing to pay people to quit, so feel free to ask for more money to give them what they want. Similarly, you could ask to be vested in the company’s retirement plan if you’re not fully there yet or ask to stay on the organization’s health insurance until the next calendar year. The worst they can say is no. Deciding what you want to make leaving feel good can make a voluntary layoff a winning proposition for you, rather than an employment catch-22. Lay off me! If you’re facing a “Voluntary Exit Program” or other euphemistically named quit-or-we’ll-start-laying-people-off process, there are four questions you can ask yourself to help determine whether or not you should opt in. First, think about what’s going on in your industry as a whole. If there are larger technological, political, or economic forces that are causing structural changes in your organization or in your industry, then it may make sense to take the buyout, since there may be bigger shakeups on the horizon. From there, think about your employment prospects. Since buyouts typically have a window of several weeks for you to decide whether or not to opt-in, you have some time to determine if you can quickly find another position. Then consider what’s in the severance package your company is offering, including the full payment amount and any additional perks that are included. What’s offered and how much is it worth to you? Finally, think about what you want. What would the company have to offer you to make walking away worthwhile—and ask for it. Because a voluntary layoff is a negotiation, and you should treat it like one.
