downtube24, I don't have any easy answers either. This is happening in a lot of tech companies here in MA. The largest one was Cisco last year. If you were 50 or over, and had ten years of service, you could take their package, consisting of one year of salary at your present rate, and you got to stay in their group health plan for two years. As you mentioned, persons taking the package had to sign away their rights to sue for age discrimination, and some other things.

If I were offered such a package (and it IS possible) I would want to take it to my own attorney for advice. You don't want to sign away too many of your rights. Giving up your right to sue is a given, but I'm not sure about the others.

I remember the days when two of MAs biggest employers, Polaroid and Digital Equipment, were offering buyout packages that were nothing short of a gold mine.