Let's address the elephant in the room.

First, and this is a personal opinion. I've never understood the emphasis on the 'how' versus the 'what.'

If my partner leaves me, the key element is that I'm now single and I have to deal with the emotional (and sometimes practical) aftermath of a breakup.

Whether it was done via text or in person, in the big scheme of things, is not particularly relevant.

So that's my first criticism of this inexplicable celebration of the latest redundancy round involving a major online graphic design and visual communication platform.

The tone, while important, doesn't change the fact that 1,200+ people are out of work.

Let's address the perks.

• Keep your laptop

I'm sorry, what? How's that a perk? I even read people saying "they let you keep the tool the keep building". Oh fcuk right off with this LinkedIn-sounding BS.

This is 2026. I do not have and more importantly do not want a company laptop. So if I lost my job I'd be more than happy to throw the company laptop out of the window and continue using my own.

• 12 months of healthcare

Again, sorry to burst the bubble here but there's only one market where this is the relevant: the US.

Everywhere else - even with all the IFs and BUTs and caveats you want - healthcare coverage is simply not a major issue.

• $10,000 startup or community grants

Yeah but that's not cash. Those are grants tied to disqualifying caveats you have to apply for. It's not like each employee gets an extra $10,000, which is what some people made it sound like.

• No vesting

The headline promise to waive its one-year equity 'vesting cliff' but first, it offers zero extra benefit to anyone who has been at the company for over a year, as they had already passed their cliff.

It only allows employees hired within the past 12 months to keep a prorated fraction of their shares based on the months they actually worked, rather than walking away empty-handed.

Also, the aforementioned online graphic design and visual communication platform is a private company, which means those shares aren't liquid.

And, in the case of stock options, they may still require paying out of pocket to exercise before a strict post-termination deadline

• 6 months pay

For starters, and I'm sorry to be brutal, this is the only bit that truly matters. When you lose your job, there's a pot that's no longer being replenished, and that's your first, biggest, and most immediate problem.

So six months of pay is certainly better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

But again, let's be honest, the US (and in part the UK) is the only market where you can turn any idea into a success story. There's nowhere else in the world you can do that at the same level, with the same results.

But the downside is that social security and welfare are virtually non-existent.

In most EU countries, for example, if you get fired you get severance based on length of service, and then you get unemployment pay, both of which generally exceed six months of pay.

My point is, we are somehow at a point where we're glamorizing a massive layoff.

This is so wrong and so stupid for so many different reasons.

And also, we're so used to companies firing people brutally and leaving them with nothing that when the company does exactly the same thing a little bit more nicely and with a little bit more generosity, that's somehow a thing to celebrate.