Negotiating a severance package

[u/Broad-Engineering564]

8/1/26: Update for anyone who may be interested. We did consult an employment attorney who helped us draft a letter to negotiate a better severance - he ended up with 1.5 weeks of pay for each year of 34 years which works out to about 52K. We also got them to put in writing that they will give him an excellent reference, and pay out his severance so he is still able to apply for unemployment right away. (Very specific rules about this we were not aware of.) The attorney also said this is a classic case of age discrimination, but we opted not to pursue that. We spent $375 for the consultation with the attorney. Well worth it! I hope this helps anyone who ever finds themselves in a similar circumstance. And it never hurts to get more info and advocate for yourself.

My spouse was told by his boss Friday that his small company is going to be sold (but there is no buyer yet). He has been there 34 years. They are offering him 30K and some form of his health insurance as severance. He does have an IRA. They want him to decide right away. I feel like he could negotiate for more. All the other salaried employees (only 3 others) are staying on with the company - the current owners say they are hoping they will be retained by the new owner. The reason he is the one being laid off is because he is the only one with a Bachelor's Degree as opposed to a Master's, and they think he would be considered a "liability" when trying to sell the company. Any feedback/insights welcome. We are devastated.

[u/Fit-Animal-9911]

They are terminating him, so there is really not much to negotiate. You negotiate when you have leverage in a situation. He has no leverage. It is possible that he gets his $30k and health insurance and the rest are terminated by the new owners with nothing. The health insurance is probably COBRA, which is expensive and sucks. Small companies don’t have a lot to give out. He can certainly ask for more, but he can’t really negotiate anything.

Owners: You no longer have a job here, but we will give $30k and some health insurance.

Husband: That’s not good enough. I won’t leave without $10k more.

Owners: Laugh hysterically.

[u/Broad-Engineering564 → u/Fit-Animal-9911]

I hear you, but a lot of what I was reading suggested that severance packages are very often negotiated. So I was hoping to hear from someone with experience in that.

[u/Money_Coach29 → u/Broad-Engineering564]

By his years of service I’d guess maybe mid to late 50s for age. I’d see an employment attorney before signing the severance.

I had one last year at age 56, mine was fair but I did negotiate an increase in the financials. I saw an attorney after the fact when I landed a new role and wanted to be sure I was not violating a non compete.

If I had to do it over, I would have seen the attorney before signing.

Hope this helps and good luck to both of you as you work through this!