I'm FIRE'd, they're fired

[Bric-a-Brac]

Gather 'round kids and let me tell you a tale.  I work for a large tech firm.  Our division has about 50 people.

I reached FI last year and after much planning, a few weeks ago I gave 4 weeks notice.

Skip to yesterday and the bigwigs have a mandatory meeting for everybody.  Their first words are, "so, this isn't the best news but we're outsourcing the division and all but 8 of you are fired".  They phrased it in more politic terms.

Leaving aside the difficulty my coworkers are facing, I wanted to comment on how this affects me and my decision to pull the trigger a few weeks ago.

Everyone but me is getting a big severance package based on salary and years of service.  If I hadn't quit I would be eligible for about $90k.  So that hurts.  At first it hurt a lot and I was feeling like an idiot, but as I learned more about the restructuring I was feeling better and better.

Here are some lines of thought that have comforted me:

• I've got one foot out the door with my post-retirement planning and I'm already struggling with short-timer syndrome.  The layoffs are structured into two rounds, one 6 months from now and one 18 months from now.  I could make it to six months, but not 18.  My position in the company is such that I would have been very likely to be one of the later firings, and possibly one of the 8 people who will stay on and direct the overseas people.  That would suck.
  
• I missed a line in the severance materials that caps the payout.  I had calculated that I would receive $300k.  I'm retiring on only $700k, so an extra $300k would make a huge difference.  $90k is a lot, but would not have radically changed my retirement.
  
• If, as was my plan, I had quit and the company had not fired everybody, I would still not be receiving that $90k.  So I'm not out anything relative to what was happening two days ago.
• Similarly, I was thinking about quitting a week too early as being similar to entering a lottery and being off by one digit.  You didn't lose anything by being off by one. Close doesn't matter.
• I won't have to suffer the indignity of teaching a 22 year old how to do my job.
• I'll always know I left the working world on my own terms.  It has taken courage and I did it.
• It's only money. :p

Thoughts?

[forummm]

Wow, what strange timing. You already have enough money to last you the rest of your life. You don't need more. Sure, you could find something to do with it. But it's nice to know that you're already set. Congrats on RE!

[Bric-a-Brac]

Wow, what strange timing. You already have enough money to last you the rest of your life. You don't need more. Sure, you could find something to do with it. But it's nice to know that you're already set. Congrats on RE!

Hey, thanks!  Yes, I feel pretty comfortable about it.  Because the layoff doesn't affect me I didn't have to endure the punch in the gut that everybody else got.  The only thing is that since my nest egg is at the low end for early retirement, an extra pile of loot would have been nice.

This event is in no way comparable to my real financial mistakes (not saving earlier, buying expensive things).

[Dicey]

I like the way you think, BaB. I'd add that you have peace of mind that the ones remaining most likely do not have. Priceless.

[h2ogal]

My mom's best friend was a high level administrator at her last job.  She mentioned that my Dad was pressuring her to retire and travel.  Her friend said "wait 3 months....it will be worth it." and it sure was!!   They offered all the high paid old-timers a great package, including a big boost to pension, to retire early.

I have a fantasy that I can arrange to get myself strategically laid off/position eliminated right around my FIRE date.   Doesn't hurt to try, right?

[honeybbq]

What other people are getting and spending is completely irrelevant to you and your plans. You did your calculations, you picked your date, and you went through with it. What happens to your former coworkers doesn't change that you made your decisions on your terms. I would completely and utterly ignore what their severance packages are.

[neil]

It sounds like if you were offered the terms of the severance, you would take it - but you really feel you are done with this phase of your life and are not really interested in prolonging it.  I am pretty sure if I was offered the same situation and had a choice, I would still work knowing that I don't need to, because that is what we are programmed to do.

Perhaps you are lucky you missed out on the severance!

[cautiouspessimist]

Well, congrats on being well positioned. I imagine you're probably in slightly better shape mentally than if you weren't already decided on retiring and were instead pushed into it via layoff.

[markbike528CBX]

   large layoffs are hard to deal with,  FIRED or fired.

I'm pretty close to FI/FU,but the 75% layoffs (including my mentor-ee) is pretty demoralizing.
I've nearly volunteered for layoffs, but the call was above me and/or a surprise.

[Bric-a-Brac]

Well, congrats on being well positioned. I imagine you're probably in slightly better shape mentally than if you weren't already decided on retiring and were instead pushed into it via layoff.

This is certainly true.  Lots of high consumption lifestyles here.

[Bric-a-Brac]

My mom's best friend was a high level administrator at her last job.  She mentioned that my Dad was pressuring her to retire and travel.  Her friend said "wait 3 months....it will be worth it." and it sure was!!   They offered all the high paid old-timers a great package, including a big boost to pension, to retire early.

This is an interesting wrinkle.  I asked my boss if he knew about the layoffs when I gave him my notice and he said no.  He said they told him the day before they told us and I believe him.  He got fired, too.  His boss, on the other hand...

My boss said he was glad they only gave him a day's notice.  He said things like me quitting or some employee saying he was making some large purchase would have made it emotionally difficult to follow the terms of the NDA they made him sign.

[G-dog]

Wow, what strange timing. You already have enough money to last you the rest of your life. You don't need more. Sure, you could find something to do with it. But it's nice to know that you're already set. Congrats on RE!

Similar thing happened to me, but on a smaller scale - dept downsize, not completely eradicated.  I SO wanted a severance package, but likely would not have been laid off anyway. The guaranteed freedom was more important, but yes, it did briefly hurt to think of the what if (another year's pay to fuck off? YES PLEASE!)

[mastrr]

Try not to be results oriented, you made the best decision that you could make given the information that you knew.  And that is all you can do.

[deborah]

Many years ago they did a big restructure where I worked, and fired a large proportion of the staff on similar terms to yours - some were fired immediately, some had 3 months and some had 9 months. I was one of the 9 month people. Staying there for those 9 months was incredibly difficult, especially toward the end when no-one wanted any input from me because I was leaving soon.

You really are best out of it.

[steveo]

I would love to get a payout when I was FI.

[okits]

Congratulations!

The punch in the gut can really hurt and leave lasting effects. A layoff didn't happen to you, you had the ability to pick your time and leave how you wanted. If your coworkers knew you'd be "the one who got out." I'll bet your colleagues don't feel like personal finance heroes at the moment.

Staying an extra 18 months would be insanity-inducing.  And as you said, they might have kept you.  The $90k is theoretical.

Enjoy your freedom!

[Noodle]

No doubt, the 90K would have been nice. But it's not like that would have been free money. Your coworkers are paying for it by having their lives turned upside down, knowing that a job hunt is coming but not really being able to get on with it because they need to stay for the payout, probably looking at cutting back expenses and lifestyles (yes, we've all done that but it's different when you do it because you want to for the freedom vs. having it handed to you), dealing with the stress of all the family members who are having their lives changed around. Not to mention that your workplace is going to be a misery for the foreseeable future.

You get to miss all of that, strolling off into the sunset with your plans, ego  and budget intact, for the low, low price of money you don't actually need in the first place. And you don't even have to go through the internal struggle of "stay or go." Decision's made and you can head off on adventures.

[zephyr911]

It's only natural to go through the "what ifs", but the bottom line is, you took charge of your destiny and pulled the plug when you were ready. The extra 90 would only pad your safety margin - if you're doing it right, the only functional difference there is a tiny reduction in an already low risk of FIRE failure. You did good. Be proud.

[Bob W]

You're set,  they are screwed.

[Much Fishing to Do]

That's an "oh well"... and not even a big one...be happy your co-workers are being thrown out with a life preserver they probably need...

[AZDude]

I'll always know I left the working world on my own terms.  It has taken courage and I did it.

This one is important, I think. Now you will never wonder if you really would have had the courage to do it.

[arebelspy]

Wow, the maturity to take what happened and accept it completely is super badass!  You, sir, are an inspiration!

[someday]

My mom told me a story several years back during the peak of the recession:

An friend of hers told her that someone she knew was at retirement age, and was contemplating retiring.  But she was really hoping to instead get laid off/fired, and get about a year of unemployment benefits.  So she kept holding out and holding out.  She ended up dying of a heart attack before anything happened.  It's a terrible ending, but even worse when you think that she could have had a few months of retirement she could've enjoyed vs. the extra money (and really, unemployment benefits aren't even that much).

It's very hard to not look back and wonder what if, especially since the timing was so close for your situation.  However, your thoughts to help rationalize your decision shows that you're able to come to some peace with your decision.  There will always be those what ifs with respect to making extra money (what if I had bought a couple extra properties back in 2011...), but hopefully from the story I shared, you'll also think about the other side of what ifs....

[Davids]

Don't worry about it, chalk it up to dumb luck. You already had a plan and were fine. Don't worry about the thought of what if you held out for another month...

Your story though does reminder me thoughts I have had before of how many stories are out there of the guy or gal that was planning on giving his 2 weeks notice (whether it be for new job or retiring) and just before he could was summoned to their manager's office to be informed they were getting laid off and receiving a sweet severance package.

[FenderBender]

how old are you and what do you plan to do in retirement?  you said "only 700k" so just wondering what you are planning.