What Flexport Employees Should Know About Their 2026 Severance Package

When a company eliminates hundreds of positions at once, federal law gives affected workers specific protections before anyone signs a release. The two statutes that matter most are the WARN Act, which requires 60 calendar days of advance notice for large layoffs, and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), which sets mandatory review and revocation windows before a severance waiver becomes binding. Understanding both timelines is the difference between accepting a package on the company's schedule and knowing your actual deadline.

To see what these protections look like in practice, take Priya, a 43-year-old senior operations manager based in San Francisco who has worked at Flexport for four years. Priya was among the approximately 500 workers whose roles Flexport eliminated in its June 2026 reduction. Her severance agreement landed in her inbox with a signature deadline, and the clock started ticking on rights she did not know she had.

What did Flexport actually announce?

Flexport disclosed the elimination of approximately 500 roles on June 9, 2026.[1] The company has not disclosed the percentage of its workforce affected. No SEC Item 2.05 filing has been publicly identified as of this writing, and the specific terms of the severance package (cash multiple, benefits continuation period, equity treatment) have not been made public.

Because the company has not released these details, the rest of this guide focuses on the legal frameworks that apply to any layoff of this scale, and the concrete questions Priya and her colleagues should be asking before they sign anything.

Does the federal WARN Act apply to a 500-person Flexport layoff?

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees to provide 60 calendar days of written notice before a "mass layoff" or "plant closing."[2] A mass layoff is defined as a reduction affecting at least 50 employees at a single site of employment during any 30-day period.[3]

Flexport, with offices in San Francisco and other locations, employs well over 100 workers. A reduction of approximately 500 roles across the company will trigger federal WARN coverage at any individual site where 50 or more employees are laid off within a 30-day window.[2]

If Flexport did not provide the full 60 days of advance written notice, affected employees at covered sites are entitled to back pay and benefits for each day of the shortfall, up to 60 days.[3] The employer can also face a civil penalty of up to $500 per day for failing to notify the local government unit.[2]

What about California's state-level WARN Act?

Flexport is headquartered in San Francisco. California has its own WARN Act (California Labor Code sections 1400 through 1408) that mirrors federal WARN in most respects but applies to employers with 75 or more employees, a lower threshold than the federal 100-employee bar.[4] California also requires 60 days of notice and mandates that employers file notices with the Employment Development Department.[5]

Several other states impose mini-WARN requirements that are stricter than the federal statute. The table below summarizes the states most likely to affect Flexport employees based on common tech-company office locations.

Any Flexport employee working in a state with a mini-WARN law should check whether their site's layoff count meets the state threshold. The state with the stricter rule controls.

How does OWBPA affect Flexport workers who are 40 or older?

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) sets strict requirements for any waiver of age-discrimination claims included in a severance agreement.[7] Most severance releases include such a waiver. For the waiver to be valid, the employer must meet every requirement in 29 U.S.C. § 626(f).[7]

For an individual termination, the employee gets at least 21 days to consider the agreement.[8] For a group layoff, which a 500-person reduction clearly qualifies as, the review period extends to 45 days.[8] After signing, every employee 40 or older has 7 additional days to revoke the agreement, and the agreement cannot become effective until that revocation period expires.[7]

The employer must also provide a written disclosure identifying the job titles and ages of all employees selected for the group layoff, as well as the titles and ages of employees in the same job classification who were not selected.[8]

If the severance agreement fails to include the required disclosures, or if the employer shortens the consideration period, the age-discrimination waiver is not "knowing and voluntary" and can be challenged in court.[7]

How does severance pay interact with California unemployment insurance?

California's Employment Development Department (EDD) generally does not treat severance pay as wages for unemployment insurance purposes, provided the payment is structured as a separation or severance benefit rather than as compensation for a specific period of continued employment.[9] A lump-sum severance payment made at separation typically does not delay or reduce unemployment benefits in California.

However, if the severance is allocated to a specific post-termination period (for example, "12 weeks of salary continuation"), the EDD can treat those weeks as a period of employment, which would delay the start of unemployment benefits.[10]

Priya should check her severance agreement for language that ties the payment to a defined time period. A lump-sum payment described simply as "severance" is safer from an unemployment-benefit standpoint than "salary continuation through September 2026."

Workers in other states should verify their state's unemployment rules. The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a state-by-state directory of unemployment insurance programs.[10]

What terms can a departing Flexport employee try to negotiate?

Flexport has not publicly disclosed the terms of its severance offer. Low confidence Based on common tech-industry severance structures, the areas most often open to negotiation include cash severance multiples, COBRA premium coverage duration, treatment of unvested equity (RSUs or stock options), outplacement services, and reference-letter language.

No federal statute requires a private employer to offer severance pay at all. Severance is a contractual benefit, which means everything in the offer is, by definition, a term the company chose and a term the employee can propose changing. Use the severance negotiation guide on this site for a framework.

A few practical pointers:

• Cash multiple. Ask whether the weeks-of-pay formula can be increased, especially if your tenure exceeds the company's standard formula.
• Healthcare. Federal COBRA allows 18 months of continued coverage, but the employee pays the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. Negotiating employer-paid COBRA for 3 to 6 months reduces out-of-pocket costs significantly.
• Equity. If you have unvested RSUs with a vesting date within 90 days of your separation, ask for accelerated vesting of that tranche.
• Reference language. A neutral reference letter locked into the agreement prevents future disputes about what the company says to prospective employers.

You can estimate the total value of a severance package using the layoff calculator.

What concrete steps should Flexport employees take right now?

The consideration window is the most important period. Here is a checklist for anyone holding a Flexport severance agreement today:

1. Confirm your OWBPA deadline. If you are 40 or older, you have 45 days from the date you received the agreement to review it.[8] Do not assume a shorter deadline printed on the agreement is correct.
2. Request the decisional-unit disclosure. The employer must provide the job titles and ages of selected and non-selected employees in your decisional unit.[7] If this document was not included with your agreement, the age-discrimination waiver is defective.
3. File for unemployment immediately. In California, file with the EDD on your last day of work. Filing early does not reduce your severance; it protects your benefit start date.[9]
4. Document your WARN notice date. Write down the exact date you first received written notice of the layoff. Compare that date against your separation date. If the gap is less than 60 days, you have a potential WARN Act back-pay claim.[2]
5. Consult an employment attorney. Many plaintiff-side employment lawyers offer free consultations. An attorney can review the release language, flag missing OWBPA disclosures, and estimate the value of any WARN Act shortfall claim.

For more on how severance payments are taxed, see the severance tax calculator. For background on how WARN Act protections work across all 50 states, see our WARN Act guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does Flexport have to offer severance pay by law?

No federal or California statute requires a private employer to provide severance pay. Severance is a voluntary benefit. However, once an employer offers severance in exchange for a release of legal claims, the terms of that exchange are governed by contract law and, for workers 40 and older, by OWBPA.[7] If the employer's release language fails OWBPA requirements, the employee can accept the money and later challenge the waiver in court. Employees should review the release with an attorney before signing. For a rough estimate of typical severance amounts, try the layoff calculator.

How long do Flexport employees over 40 have to review the severance agreement?

Workers 40 and older in a group layoff receive 45 days to consider a severance agreement containing an age-discrimination waiver under 29 U.S.C. § 626(f).[7] After signing, a 7-day revocation period applies. The agreement cannot take effect until that revocation window closes.[8] Any deadline shorter than 45 days printed on the agreement does not comply with OWBPA and makes the waiver voidable. Employees should mark the 45-day and 7-day deadlines on their calendars and avoid signing under pressure before the statutory period expires.

Can I collect unemployment benefits while receiving Flexport severance?

In California, a lump-sum severance payment generally does not reduce or delay unemployment insurance benefits.[9] The key factor is how the payment is structured. Lump-sum payments labeled "severance" are typically not treated as wages for UI purposes. Payments structured as "salary continuation" tied to a defined period can be treated as wages, delaying benefit eligibility.[10] Workers in other states should check their state unemployment agency's rules, as treatment of severance varies. The DOL maintains a directory of state workforce agencies.

What is the WARN Act penalty if Flexport did not give 60 days' notice?

Under 29 U.S.C. § 2102, an employer that fails to provide 60 days of written notice before a qualifying mass layoff owes each affected employee back pay and benefits for every day of the notice shortfall, up to 60 days.[2] The employer also faces a civil penalty of up to $500 per day payable to the local government unit.[3] Employees do not need to file individually; WARN claims are often brought as class actions. California's state WARN Act imposes a similar 60-day notice requirement with its own penalty structure.[4]

Should I sign the severance agreement before consulting a lawyer?

Employees should consult an employment attorney before signing a severance release, especially one containing a waiver of age-discrimination claims. OWBPA expressly advises employees to "consult with an attorney" before executing a waiver, and this advisory language must appear in the agreement itself to comply with 29 U.S.C. § 626(f).[7] Many plaintiff-side employment lawyers offer free initial reviews of severance agreements. The cost of a one-hour consultation is small compared to the value of identifying a defective waiver or a WARN Act back-pay claim. See our severance negotiation tips for more context.

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