Amazon, Paramount and GM are among the major companies announcing layoffs just this week, resulting in thousands of workers suddenly without a job.
Many of them may be feeling pressure to sign severance agreements to move on with the layoff. That could be a big mistake, according to experts.
“Don’t sign anything,” Kristina O’Neill, former WSJ Magazine top editor and co-author of “All the Cool Girls Get Fired,” told finance expert Vivian Tu on her podcast “Net Worth and Chill” last week.
“What happens is, when you’re in the room with the dreaded HR, they need you to sign that. So the ball’s actually in your court,” added co-author Laura Brown, previously InStyle’s editor-in-chief.
You can’t avoid signing the paperwork for months, she said, but you have and should take the time to review the agreement and get advice, whether from friends or a lawyer, before completing it.
