Facing Layoff Before Acquisition: How Can I Negotiate Better Severance Pay?

Hello all, I have worked as an HR Manager with my company for over a year now, and suddenly the business is being taken over by a Customer Company. I have received internal news that I will be laid off soon before the acquisition process is even completed. Is that legal? Also, in any case, there is an eventual lay-off coming up anyway.

Severance Pay Negotiation

How much severance pay can I negotiate? What points can I put up to increase the amount of severance pay? And until what time can I delay agreeing to the severance agreement?

Understanding "Internal News"

What do you mean by "internal news"? Is that just office gossip? You need to wait until you are "officially" told what is going to happen. It may be different from what office gossip says.

Preparing for Redundancies

In any case, you say there will be redundancies. What are you doing to prepare for this in case you might be one of them? No one should ever think their job is safe. It is NOT. You always need to have one eye on the future. You always need to have an up-to-date resume ready and waiting in your bottom drawer. You always need to keep a watching brief on the industry you are in and general economic conditions in relation to your employment. You always need to keep an eye on your own company, in terms of sales, staff turnover, expansion/contraction, etc., to gauge the health of the company. That way, there are no surprises and you can be ready to move. To survive in this world now, you need to be one jump ahead of the crowd.

Severance Pay Considerations

In regard to severance pay, what does your contract say? Good luck with trying to change what they offer. I doubt you will succeed.