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Should you take Amazon’s Voluntary Resignation Offer?

Amazon Voluntary Resignation Offer

Recently Amazon offered some of its employees the option of Voluntary Resignation Offer:

  • 3 month base salary plus
  • 1 additional week of base pay per nearest 6 months of service (rounded up the nearest 6 months) with a minimum benefit of 4 weeks paid severance, regardless of tenure up to a maximum benefit of 20 weeks paid severance
  • $297/Week for 12 weeks, which can be used to offset COBRA premiums in alignment with the 3 month base pay plus $297 per week for severance based on tenure calculation

The above is a mouthful! Let me break it down to show you how much one will get based on tenure.

Amazon Severance by Tenure

  • 1 year tenure: 16 weeks of base pay, and 14 weeks of $297/week
  • 2 year tenure: 16 weeks of base pay, and 16 weeks of $297/week
  • 3 year tenure: 18 weeks of base pay and 18 weeks of $297/week
  • 4 year tenure: 20 weeks of base pay and 20 weeks of $297/week
  • 5 year tenure: 22 weeks of base pay and 22 weeks of $297/week
  • 6 year tenure: 24 weeks of base pay and 24 weeks of $297/week
  • 7 year tenure: 26 weeks of base pay and 26 weeks of $297/week
  • 8 year tenure: 28 weeks of base pay and 28 weeks of $297/week
  • 9 year tenure: 30 weeks of base pay and 30 weeks of $297/week
  • 10 year tenure: 32 weeks of base pay and 32 weeks of $297/week. Please note that 32 weeks of base pay hit the maximum threshold.

Observations: Is Amazon Voluntary Resignation Offer attractive?

  • The $297/week COBRA coverage amount is generous enough that it can cover the whole family of four for the most parts (unless you enrolled your family in a very expensive medical plan). I’d give Amazon a pass for this component.
  • In today’s job market, you should expect that it’ll take at least 3 months for someone to land an offer for positions that are below director level. For director level or above, I’d like to recommend you to target 6 months or longer ((although it can go a lot faster for candidates with unique skills/background).
  • Overall, the severance is adequate for folks who want to leave Amazon and find another job. But, unless you have other jobs lined up or you have an alternative source of income, it’s not going to be easy for you to make profits from the severance as you’ll need the severance to cover your living expenses for a while.
  •  If you feel insecure about your current job at Amazon, this is not a bad severance option. Instead of going through a PIP process, the severance would be a better option.
  • However, if you’re in good standing at Amazon but you’re a little bit burned out, I’d recommend you take a couple weeks off but stick to your current position at Amazon. In this economy, I’d not take the voluntary resignation offer unless you have a compelling reason to do so.

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