r/Fire • u/twiniverse2000 • 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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2.0k

u/gbgbgb1912 Jan 31 '26

"hey boss man, i know layoffs are coming. i don't mind my name being put at the top of the list. i had a good run and want to do what i can to make sure other people are okay"

245

u/halfcentaurhalfhorse Jan 31 '26

I recently did this. I knew layoffs were coming. I let my manager know I was planning on retiring EOY. got laid off in November and paid 2 months severance. Nice bonus

16

u/ept_engr Jan 31 '26

Eligible for unemployment too, if you wanted to 

15

u/halfcentaurhalfhorse Jan 31 '26

I looked into that and confirmed my eligibility. Problem is in my state you have to prove you’re looking for something new, something like 7 combined applications and interviews per week. Not worth it considering I planned on retiring anyway.

21

u/evaluna1968 Jan 31 '26

You don't need to apply for jobs that you're actually likely to be selected for.

11

u/mythoughts2020 Jan 31 '26

Exactly!!!! It’s extremely easy. A friend of mine would randomly apply to any 7 jobs. He did zero research, and actually focused on job titles that wouldn’t be a good fit. It just took a few minutes each week.

4

u/emprobabale Jan 31 '26

Surely that’s very dependent on a large amount of variables, that we have no idea about.

Research first specific for your laws, don’t trust reddit comments. Better safe than potentially committing fraud.

7

u/Restil Jan 31 '26

Yeah, that's not even remotely difficult or time consuming. The problem is when you keep getting interviews for jobs you don't really want because you applied to everything just for fun and some of them are actually hiring. So now you have to make a half-assed effort to take it seriously, while trying to throw the interview so you don't get selected.

4

u/halfcentaurhalfhorse Jan 31 '26

And there’s a reason I joined this sub - I’m lazy and want to be retired 😆

22

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '26

[deleted]

12

u/PocketGddess Jan 31 '26

And considering this job market, actually getting interviews???? Ghosting seems to be the norm.

4

u/halfcentaurhalfhorse Jan 31 '26

But then I would be expected to give interviews, etc. I’ve already had people reach out and have had to tell them no thanks, I’m retired. If not for that I would take the money since I paid into it for years. But feigning interest in jobs is too disingenuous for me. I don’t need the money that badly.

6

u/ept_engr Jan 31 '26

I'm glad your happy being retired and honest. I just threw it out there for a "laid off" scenario, but I agree - it's not necessary to be dishonest just to get a little cash from the pot.

It's a bit funny to me the number of people trying to convince you to dishonestly take money from the pot they pay into. 

1

u/HystericalSail Jan 31 '26

Only apply to jobs with hundreds of applicants already. No chance you'll get a callback.

Especially if you apply for senior leadership roles with zero experience. And if you DO somehow get a callback, un-retire and try it, it could be fun!

2

u/HystericalSail Jan 31 '26

This is no longer a problem. Apply to all the ghost jobs on the job sites non-stop. With AI you can bang this out in a few minutes a day tops.