Voluntary exits, opt-in layoffs: The buyout tactic sweeping the workforce

A voluntary layoff? In this economy?

The mass layoff meat grinder is out in full force this week. In just the past couple of days, thousands of workers have fallen victim to job cuts at Amazon, Target, Paramount, CBS, and other large companies. 

YouTube has also quietly introduced voluntary exit packages for employees who are willing to be laid off with severance benefits, according to an internal memo first reported by Alex Heath’s Sources AI newsletter.

Adding words like “opt in” or “voluntary” in front of separation, retirement, and severance packages is the new way to soft-launch layoffs, in the hope of making the idea of losing one’s job slightly more palatable to employees. (Also, why not just call these things what they are: buyouts?)

These programs are not new, and saw a resurgence of popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a few months extra pay, healthcare coverage, and other employment services such as career counseling, to sugarcoat what is, in most cases, bad news. 

Not everyone is buying the idea. 

“Framing a layoff as a “Voluntary Career Transition” is wild,” one X user wrote in response to news of potential layoffs ahead at video game developer Massive Entertainment. As they enter a period of restructuring, the Ubisoft subsidiary is instead asking staff to volunteer for “career transition.” 

“Impressive word salad for a severance package,” one X user replied. “Next up: ‘Mandatory Sabbatical of Indefinite Length,’” another quipped. 

The voluntary nature of some buyout programs gives employees the illusion of control over their fate. 

“The reality of opt-in layoffs is psychological and emotional outsourcing,” Holly Howard, founder of Ask Holly How, a culture-first business consultancy, told Fast Company. “It’s a bit of a PR strategy to avoid what might be a complicated and negative narrative and instead transfer that burden onto the employees themselves.”

In some cases, it works well. For those with jobs already lined up, coming up to retirement, or already halfway out the door, it can be seen as the lesser of two evils. 

For those who choose not to opt in, however, the writing is on the wall. They run the risk of ultimately being laid off down the line, but without any of those benefits to ease the blow. 

“Anytime a company offers this, I’ve learned to take it,” one Reddit user responded in the r/Layoffs subreddit to the news of YouTube’s voluntary exit packages. “One company I had did this, and I didn’t take it. Then they started doing rolling layoffs without severance, and it was incredibly toxic working there while waiting for the axe.” 

Another suggested: “They are great for the current employees, but these are still people without a job added to the unemployed market.” They continued: “Voluntary or involuntary, unemployment is still bad.” 

More than 1 in 4 workers without jobs have been unemployed for at least half a year. That number is the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic, and a level typically only seen during periods of economic turmoil, The Washington Post reported.

Each day brings more layoff news. For those clinging desperately to their jobs, voluntary exit packages may be about as reassuring as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

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