What GitLab Employees Should Know About Their 2026 Severance Package

When a tech company cuts more than a hundred jobs at once, the severance agreement that lands in your inbox is not just an HR formality. Federal and state labor statutes set minimum notice periods, waiver timelines, and back-pay remedies that apply regardless of what the agreement says. Understanding those baselines before you sign gives you real information about what you can ask for and what you are giving up.

To see what the 2026 GitLab reduction looks like for one person, take Priya, a senior backend engineer who has been at GitLab for four years. Priya is 38, based in California, and just received a severance offer with a signature deadline. Every worked example below follows Priya through the federal and state rules that shape her package.

What did GitLab disclose about the June 2026 layoff?

GitLab announced on June 5, 2026 that it was eliminating approximately 140 positions, representing roughly 11% of its workforce. The company has not publicly disclosed the severance multiplier, benefits continuation period, or equity-acceleration terms included in individual separation agreements. Because GitLab is a publicly traded company, additional details about restructuring charges will appear in its next quarterly SEC filing under Item 2.05 of Form 8-K. Until that filing is public, affected employees should treat the specific financial terms of their offer as the primary source of information.

Does the federal WARN Act apply to a 140-person cut?

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires 60 calendar days of advance written notice before a "mass layoff" at a covered site.[1] A mass layoff at a single site of employment means a reduction of at least 50 employees during any 30-day period, provided those employees make up at least one-third of the site's active workforce, or a reduction of 500 or more employees regardless of percentage.[1] GitLab's 140-person cut exceeds the 50-employee floor. Whether the one-third test is met depends on how many workers were assigned to each affected location.

Remote-first companies like GitLab present a complication. The DOL defines "site of employment" as a single location or a group of contiguous locations.[4] For employees who work from home, the site of employment is typically the office to which they report or from which their work is assigned.[4] If GitLab funnels remote workers through a single headquarters for WARN purposes, the full 140-person reduction could count toward one site's threshold.

When an employer fails to provide the full 60 days of notice, affected employees are entitled to back pay and benefits for each day of the shortfall, up to 60 days.[2]

How does California's Cal-WARN Act add protections?

GitLab lists San Francisco as its U.S. headquarters. California's Cal-WARN Act covers employers with 75 or more employees and applies to layoffs of 50 or more workers within a 30-day period, with no percentage-of-workforce qualifier.[3] Cal-WARN requires 60 days of advance notice, mirroring the federal timeline, but it removes the one-third workforce exception that can shield smaller-site layoffs under federal law.[3]

California employees who did not receive the full 60-day Cal-WARN notice are entitled to back pay and the value of lost benefits for each day of the violation.[3] California's Employment Development Department also maintains a WARN tracking database that lists covered layoff notices filed in the state.[5]

The table below compares state mini-WARN laws in states where tech employers commonly have offices:

State	Employee threshold	Layoff trigger	Notice period	Statute / source
California	75 employees	50+ workers in 30 days	60 days	Cal. Lab. Code § 1400-1408 [3]
New York	50 employees	25+ workers (and 33% of site)	90 days	N.Y. Lab. Law § 860-a et seq.
New Jersey	100 employees	50+ workers	90 days	N.J.S.A. 34:21-1 et seq.
Illinois	75 employees	25+ workers (and 33% of site)	60 days	820 ILCS 65/
Federal WARN	100 employees	50+ workers (and 33% of site), or 500+	60 days	29 U.S.C. § 2102 [1]

Priya works in California, so both the federal WARN Act and Cal-WARN apply. The stricter of the two controls, meaning Cal-WARN's removal of the one-third threshold gives her broader coverage.

What OWBPA timelines apply to GitLab workers 40 and older?

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, codified at 29 U.S.C. § 626(f), sets mandatory review and revocation periods whenever an employer asks an employee aged 40 or older to waive age-discrimination claims in exchange for severance.[6]

For an individual termination, the employee gets at least 21 days to consider the waiver. For a group layoff (an "exit incentive or other employment termination program"), the review period extends to at least 45 days.[6] GitLab's 140-person reduction is a group layoff, so every affected worker 40 or older must receive the full 45-day consideration window.

After signing, the employee has 7 additional days to revoke the waiver.[6] No severance payment contingent on the waiver needs to be made until that revocation window closes. The employer must also provide, in writing, the job titles and ages of all individuals eligible for and selected for the program, as well as the eligibility criteria.[7]

Priya is 38, so the OWBPA waiver requirements do not apply to her personally. Her agreement can still include a general release of claims, but the 45-day and 7-day windows are specific to workers 40 and older.

How does severance pay interact with unemployment insurance?

The answer depends on the state. In New York, severance pay does not disqualify a claimant from unemployment insurance benefits, but lump-sum severance covering specific future weeks can delay the start of benefits.[8] In Pennsylvania, dismissal pay is deductible from unemployment compensation during the weeks the pay covers.[9]

California does not treat severance pay as wages for unemployment insurance purposes. A California worker can file for UI immediately after separation, regardless of any severance lump sum received. Priya, based in California, can file her UI claim the day after her last day of employment and begin collecting benefits even if her severance check arrives the same week.

Every affected GitLab employee should file for unemployment in their state of residence within the first week of separation. Filing promptly protects the claim date even if benefits are temporarily delayed by a severance offset. Use our state-by-state calculator to estimate your WARN and UI exposure.

What terms can a departing GitLab employee try to negotiate?

Severance agreements are contracts, and contracts have terms that can be discussed before signing. GitLab has not disclosed the default package, so the specifics below are general negotiation categories rather than confirmed GitLab terms. Low confidence

Cash multiple. Many tech companies offer one to four weeks of base pay per year of service. Employees with specialized knowledge or long tenure often ask for a higher multiplier.
COBRA subsidy or healthcare continuation. Employer-paid COBRA premiums for three to six months reduce out-of-pocket costs during a job search. Federal COBRA law requires employers with 20 or more employees to offer 18 months of continuation coverage, but the employee typically pays the full premium unless the severance agreement says otherwise.
Equity treatment. RSU vesting acceleration for the next scheduled cliff, extended stock-option exercise windows, and treatment of performance-based grants are all negotiable.
Reference language. A written agreement specifying what the company will say in response to reference checks removes ambiguity.
Non-compete and non-solicit scope. California generally prohibits non-compete agreements, so Priya can push back on any clause that restricts future employment.

For a deeper look at negotiation strategy, see our guide on how to negotiate severance and our severance tax calculator to model the after-tax value of different offers.

What should affected GitLab employees do right now?

The DOL's worker guide to the WARN Act outlines the practical steps available to employees after a mass layoff notification.[10] Here is a condensed action list for the GitLab reduction:

Read the full severance agreement before doing anything else. Note the signature deadline, the release of claims, any non-compete or non-solicit clause, and the equity section.
Check the WARN notice date. Compare the date GitLab provided written WARN notice against your last day of employment. If the gap is fewer than 60 days, you are owed back pay for the shortfall.[2]
File for unemployment insurance. Do not wait until severance runs out. File in your state of residence during your first week of separation.
Request the OWBPA decisional-unit data (if 40+). The employer must provide job titles and ages of selected and non-selected employees.[7]
Consult an employment attorney. Many offer free initial consultations. An attorney can identify whether your specific agreement undercuts statutory minimums.
Use our severance calculator to benchmark your offer. The calculator models federal WARN liability, state mini-WARN exposure, and tax withholding so you can see where your offer falls relative to the legal floor.

For more context on how layoffs interact with tax withholding, see our post on how severance pay is taxed.

Frequently asked questions

Does the WARN Act guarantee severance pay for GitLab employees?

The WARN Act does not mandate severance pay. Instead, 29 U.S.C. § 2104 provides a back-pay remedy when an employer fails to give the required 60 days of advance notice.[2] Affected employees are entitled to pay and benefits for each day of the notice shortfall, up to 60 days. Severance pay offered in a separation agreement is a separate contractual term. If GitLab provided the full 60-day notice, the WARN Act's back-pay remedy does not apply, but employees can still negotiate the severance offer itself.

How long do GitLab workers over 40 have to review a severance waiver?

Under the OWBPA, workers 40 and older in a group layoff must receive at least 45 days to review any waiver of age-discrimination claims.[6] After signing, a 7-day revocation period applies. No payment contingent on the waiver can be made until the revocation window closes. The employer must also disclose the job titles and ages of all individuals in the decisional unit who were selected for and not selected for the program.[7]

Can GitLab employees in California collect unemployment while receiving severance?

California does not count severance pay as wages for unemployment insurance purposes. A worker can file a UI claim with the EDD immediately after separation and receive benefits regardless of any severance lump sum.[5] Other states treat severance differently. New York, for example, may delay benefits if severance covers specific future weeks.[8] Affected employees should check their state's DOL website for the applicable rule.

What triggers California's Cal-WARN Act for a remote-first company?

Cal-WARN applies when an employer with 75 or more employees in California lays off 50 or more workers at a covered establishment within a 30-day period.[3] For remote-first companies, the California DIR treats the office to which a remote worker reports as the relevant establishment. If GitLab assigns California-based remote employees to its San Francisco headquarters, the full group of California-based terminations could count toward a single site's threshold.

Should I sign my GitLab severance agreement immediately?

Signing immediately is rarely in the employee's interest. The agreement's review period exists to give the signer time to consult an attorney, benchmark the offer, and request changes. For workers 40 and older, the OWBPA requires a minimum of 45 days for group layoffs.[6] Workers under 40 should still use whatever deadline the agreement provides. Our negotiate severance guide covers the specific terms most worth pushing back on.

Where can I find GitLab's official WARN Act filing?

Employers covered by the WARN Act must notify the state dislocated-worker unit before a mass layoff.[1] In California, the EDD maintains a public WARN notice database.[5] Affected employees can search that database for GitLab's filing to confirm the notice date, the number of affected workers, and the layoff location. The DOL also publishes a worker guide to WARN Act rights that explains how to verify notice compliance.[10]

Sources & verification

98 / 100 verifiedReviewed August 18, 2026

Every numeric claim, statute citation, and factual assertion in this post was verified against primary sources. Indexed dollar figures (wage bases, contribution limits, supplemental rates) were checked against our internal registry of agency-published values; all other claims were checked by an automated AI fact-checker. The 2-point gap reflects 1 passagewhere the fact-checker’s reading of the primary source differed from ours; the disputed reading is attached to the source it concerns below.

The score reflects the state of verification on the review date, not a permanent guarantee, since statutes get amended and agency guidance changes. See how we score accuracy for the full process.