What You Should Do If Your Struggling Company Offers a Buyout

Many struggling companies and institutions have been offering employees buyouts—financial incentives to voluntarily leave. Buyout offers launch most people into immediate, high-stakes hand-wringing as they weigh the biggest payday of their careers. Dana Levit, owner of Paragon Financial Advisors near Boston, has been deluged with inquiries from people wrestling with the decision. “I got 10 calls over the course of two days saying, ‘Oh my God, they’re offering a buyout! If I don’t take it, I could get laid off anyway. What should I do?’” Here’s what you need to know:

“We are definitely seeing more buyouts now from lots of industries, such as finance and health care, and I think we’ll keep seeing more,” says Brian Hughes, a certified financial planner at River City Wealth Management in Jacksonville, Fla. Companies nationwide are seeking to cut head counts to bridge budget shortfalls; generally, businesses offer buyouts to older, higher-paid employees. Levit says, “it’s a softer, gentler way” of getting these positions off the books.