Laid Off by Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, or Lucid? Your California Severance Rights, Explained
Published July 2026 | California Employment Law
California tech layoffs are accelerating, and if you were laid off this month by Cisco, Microsoft, Lucid Motors, Salesforce, or any other California employer, your severance rights are on the clock right now. The Bay Area is in the middle of one of the most concentrated stretches of layoff activity in recent memory, and almost every one of those separations comes with a severance agreement written by the employer’s lawyers, to protect the employer’s interests.
This article is a plain-language explanation of what California law gives you, and why the first few weeks after a layoff are the most important ones to get right.
What’s Happening: The July 2026 Layoff Wave
On July 6, Microsoft eliminated approximately 4,800 positions globally (roughly 2.1% of its worldwide workforce), with its Xbox gaming division absorbing the deepest cuts. Microsoft has significant California operations, including its Mountain View campus. California-specific headcounts are still being confirmed through state WARN filings, but workers at California locations were among those affected.
On July 13, Cisco’s layoffs became effective across three Bay Area locations: 236 workers at its San Jose headquarters, 154 in Milpitas, and 81 in San Francisco: 471 California workers in a single day, confirmed through WARN notices filed with the California Employment Development Department.
Salesforce filed a California WARN notice covering 86 positions across its Agentforce, MuleSoft, and Marketing Cloud teams. Affected employees remain on payroll through August 7.
And Lucid Motors, which has now conducted multiple rounds of reductions this year, has an active WARN notice covering 136 employees at its Newark, California headquarters, effective August 21, 2026. That window is running right now.
These are not just statistics. Behind every one of these notices is a person navigating one of the hardest weeks of their professional life. If that’s you, what comes next matters.
Before You Sign Anything
Almost every layoff comes with a severance agreement. And almost every severance agreement contains a broad release of legal claims, including claims you may not yet know you have. You are almost certainly not being asked to sign immediately. Use the time you have.
If You Are 40 or Older: The OWBPA Gives You Time
Federal law gives you specific, mandatory review rights that your employer cannot shorten or contract away. In a group layoff, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) requires 45 days to consider your severance agreement, plus a 7-day revocation period after signing. The employer is also required to provide a list of the job titles and ages of everyone selected and not selected for the layoff in your group. That information can be material to evaluating whether the selection was age-neutral. A severance agreement that does not comply with these requirements may be unenforceable as a waiver of age discrimination claims, regardless of what you signed.
If Your Layoff Was Framed as AI-Driven or Restructuring
That framing does not make the selection lawful. When a company reorganizes around artificial intelligence and the workers most affected are disproportionately older or otherwise fall into a protected class, that is not simply an economic decision. It is a pattern worth examining.
If You Received Equity That Was Cut Off
Under California’s SB 642, wages now include bonuses, equity, and benefits. That expanded definition matters for how your full compensation package is evaluated and what you may be owed.
Did Your Employer Send a Proper WARN Notice?
California’s WARN Act requires employers with 75 or more employees to provide 60 days’ advance written notice before a mass layoff affecting 50 or more workers. The remedy for non-compliance is significant: up to 60 days of back pay and benefits for each affected employee.
And there is a new wrinkle in 2026. As of January 1, SB 617 expanded what a valid WARN notice must include: whether the employer will coordinate reemployment services through the local workforce development board, CalFresh food assistance information, and functioning contact information for both the employer and the board. A notice that arrived on time but left those elements out may be deficient under current California law.
If you were laid off without any WARN notice at all, or received a notice fewer than 60 days before your effective date, those circumstances are worth examining.
A Note for Lucid Motors Workers
If you are one of the 136 Lucid Motors employees in Newark with an effective date of August 21, your WARN window is still open. That means you still have time, before your separation is final, to review your severance agreement, evaluate your options, and understand your legal position. Acting now, while you still have leverage, is meaningfully different from acting after you have already signed.
What You Should Do Now
- Do not sign your severance agreement yet. You almost certainly have time. Use it.
- If you are over 40, count your days carefully. The 45-day review period is a legal right, not a courtesy. Pressure to sign sooner than that is not legally enforceable.
- Preserve everything. Your WARN notice, your termination letter, your severance offer, any emails about the layoff selection process, and your most recent pay stubs. Access to company systems disappears when employment ends.
- Review your full compensation picture. Was your final check correct? Did it include all accrued vacation? Were your equity and bonus entitlements addressed in the severance?
- Check your WARN notice. Did it arrive at least 60 days before your effective date? Does it include the 2026 SB 617 disclosures? If not, that matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sign my severance agreement right away?
Almost certainly not. Most severance offers come with a stated review period, and if you are 40 or older in a group layoff, federal law requires 45 days to consider the agreement plus 7 days to revoke after signing. Your employer cannot shorten those periods. Pressure to sign faster is not legally enforceable.
What happens if I already signed my severance agreement?
It depends. If you are 40 or older and the agreement did not comply with the OWBPA’s requirements, including the 45-day review period and the disclosure of ages and job titles in your layoff group, the waiver of age discrimination claims may be unenforceable regardless of your signature. If you signed within the last 7 days, you may still be within your revocation window. And some claims cannot be waived by a severance agreement at all. An attorney can review what you signed and tell you what options remain.
What am I owed if my employer violated the California WARN Act?
Up to 60 days of back pay and benefits for each affected employee. California’s WARN Act applies to employers with 75 or more employees conducting a mass layoff affecting 50 or more workers, and requires 60 days’ advance written notice. Since January 1, 2026, SB 617 also requires the notice to include reemployment services information, CalFresh food assistance information, and functioning contact information. A notice missing those elements may be deficient.
My layoff was blamed on AI. Does that matter legally?
The stated reason for a layoff does not immunize the selection process. If an AI-driven reorganization disproportionately affected older workers or another protected class, the selection may still be discriminatory under federal and California law. The disclosure list that OWBPA requires in group layoffs (ages and job titles of those selected and not selected) is often the first place that pattern becomes visible.
Does my severance have to account for my equity and bonuses?
Under California’s SB 642, the definition of wages includes bonuses, equity, and benefits. How your unvested equity, pending bonuses, and benefits were treated in your separation is part of your full compensation picture and should be reviewed before you release any claims.
How McLellan Law Group, LLP Can Help
McLellan Law Group, LLP represents California employees in severance negotiations, layoffs, WARN Act claims, discrimination matters, and wage and hour disputes throughout Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, the Bay Area, and all of California. We have been watching California’s layoff wave closely for months, and what we see consistently is this: employees who understand their rights early retain more leverage than those who sign quickly and move on. The severance agreement your employer drafted was written by their lawyers, to protect their interests. You deserve the same clarity on your side of that table. We offer one complimentary initial consultation at (650) 383-1266, not to pressure you, but to give you a clear picture of where you stand before you make any decision.
Questions about your layoff or severance agreement? Contact McLellan Law Group, LLP at mclellanlawgroup.com.
Attorney advertisement by McLellan Law Group, LLP. This is general information only and not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Responsible attorney: Claire Melehani, Esq. 20655 4th Street, Ste. 202, Saratoga, CA 95070.
