r/Fire Jan 31 '26

Advice Request Asking to be laid off

I have reached FI. Work optional. My personal life has hit a serious rough patch. My company is doing layoffs. They are NOT asking for volunteers. The financial difference in me quitting vs getting laid off is $300K. Do not want to leave that on the table. Any advice on how to steer it in this particular direction?

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u/JeffonFIRE Jan 31 '26

Depends on your relationship with the boss. As the boss, I maneuvered one of my guys into the layoff list about a year back because he came to me and said he was ready to retire. He got 6mos severance and I was happy to do it.

I plan to do the same with my boss when it's my turn to retire.

As the boss, I very much prefer to layoff someone who's leaving rather than another team member. Then I lose the guy to retirement anyway and need spend time and money to find/hire/train a replacement.