Any idea if the VBO offer we received would be the same as layoffs?
25 replies (most recent on top)
@15z Incorrect
@ac you can still file for unemployment, Skydance won't contest it
@sh i can't, but i can definitely tell you the SWE pay is not competitive with 5 days in office rates.
@sc you can’t speak for everyone dear.
@mz i switched jobs, and my pay doubled by moving from full remote --> 3 days in office. they are absolutely not paying NYC rates, and i am not in bay area / NYC right now.
Take a look at the STIP summary on the intranet. It says at the bottom you have to be employed on the last day of the year, 12/31, to be eligible for bonus. If you’re laid off and your last day is 12/31 or after then you’ll get your bonus.
@mb that’s total BS. I know a remote worker based in Puerto Rico that is collecting a New York salary.
@kb they're already paid less than the market rate. if skydance wanted in person work they should pay those rates.
Remote workers should not be offered a buyout or severance. They have had it good for too long. They should pay back the company.
@h6 *warn pay
@f5 so in other words no earn pay will ever be paid out. They work the system so they don’t have to
@f5 incorrect unfortunately warm notice happens after layoffs and 60 or 90 days depending on state will be part of severance days
@f5 California WARN is 60 days, NY is 90 days. I don’t think you get that IN ADDITION to full severance but rather WARN counts towards it - i.e. if you are entitled to 4 months of severance based on your length of service, that is the total you would get, not 4 months plus WARN pay. And if you were only entitled to one month of severance based on length of service, you would just get WARN pay, nothing in addition since that would technically be more than the one month of pay.
@ec how many days of WARN pay did you get? I wonder if that’s a differentiator.
Also what state are you in?
From my understanding you get the WARN pay + severance (based on title/tenure). Is that right?
Laid off. STIP was paid out, unlike for those who opted in for voluntary severance. Because of WARN, many were kept on as employees for "garden leave" for 90 days post layoff notice and thus STIP eligible.
@ax nope. No STIP bonus. If laid off. I think you can make a case if you’re laid off after Dec 1 but any earlier and you get no prorated bonus.
Source: was laid off. Fought for proration. They took a few days to consider my case AKA sat on my email for 3 days, dropped a tu-d on it, and sent it back “sorry.”
@bn Even if they do layoffs in November, they will have to give 2 months “in lieu of” pay if they are not following the WARN Act which means someone’s last day would be after 12/31 (even if you stop working that day you are laid off) so I think you would still qualify for your bonus even if you’re laid off. But I’m not 100% sure.
@bg ohh maybe that’s the incentive here - take the offer which (for Paramount legacy) does include the full Stip/bonus, vs getting laid off and not getting the bonus
@at I was laid off last year in Oct, and my late date was in November. So they didn’t give me any STIP amount. If you stay beyond Jan 1, then you’ll get STIP.
@ax I believe the last big round of layoffs at the end of October 2025 did not get a prorated STIP, at least for those below VP.
The 2025 VBO to coincide with the initial RTO announcement did not include STIP or RSU vest acceleration (Pre Aug 2025 awards), while this one does.
@at STIP is paid out as part of severance. If you work until Dec 31 you get your full bonus regardless if you leave on Jan 1. If you were to be laid off from Nov 8 to Dec 31, I do not know but assume it's prorated for the months worked.
Any idea if STIP/Bonus will be part of the severance for those laid off?
If I think I’m going to get laid off, and STIP isn’t part of the package for those that are laid off, I’d rather take the bonus vs unemployment insurance.
Unemployment vs. voluntary buyout package. Measure up the difference. In general, Paramount people would get 2 weeks for every year in severance in both situations. Although you can’t file for unemployment if you took the voluntary buyout. How long will it take to get a new job and would you need financial assistance like unemployment? It’s all a gamble.
In the past they were the same, but that is not a guarantee that it will definitely be the same in the future
If you're on the WBD side, yes, they look the same as the change-in-control severance package.