Data Asset ‹ Updated June 13, 2026
The Severance Formula Database
A free, attribution-licensed reference table of the severance formulas used by 15 major US employers across technology, finance, and healthcare — weeks of base pay, per-year accrual, caps, and COBRA continuation — each drawn from cited public reporting, SEC filings, and CEO layoff memos.
Free to use with attribution. Journalists, researchers, and writers may republish these figures and the aggregate findings below at no cost, provided they credit Severance Ledger with a link to this page. No permission request is needed.
Severance Ledger, "Severance Formula Database 2026" (June 13, 2026). https://severanceledger.com/severance-statistics
What the numbers show
Three findings hold across the 15 employers in the table, stated with exact figures rather than ranges:
16 + 2
Three of the largest tech employers — Google, Meta, and (at a lower base) Microsoft — pay a 16 weeks base + 2 weeks per year of service structure, with Microsoft's 2026 program four weeks lighter at 12 + 2. This "base plus per-year" shape is the public-tech standard. Finance pays a thinner base: JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America accrue at roughly 2 weeks per year from a 2–4 week floor.
52 wks
The most common hard ceiling is 52 weeks — the cap at JPMorgan (also $400,000) and Citigroup, with employee-reported 52-week ceilings at Bank of America and Wells Fargo's continuation pay. Oracle's 2026 cap is the tightest in the set at 26 weeks; CVS Health's director tier caps at 44 weeks. Google and Meta publish no formal cap at all.
1 vs 6
COBRA continuation is where the gap is widest. The big tech memos fund 6 months of health coverage (Google, Meta, Salesforce, Netflix). Oracle's March 2026 package funds 1 month. Citigroup subsidizes none — coverage reverts to full employee cost once the notice period ends.
The master table
Sorted by sector, then alphabetically. Every row links to the full Severance Ledger analysis, which carries the primary sources. "Employee-reported" rows reflect aggregated former-employee accounts where the employer publishes no formal plan; treat those as consensus, not company-confirmed. 2 of 15 formulas trace to an SEC-filed plan document.
| Company | Formula (base pay) | Cap | COBRA / health | Sourcing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | ||||
| Amazon | ~1 week per 6 months of service, plus 60-day WARN notice paid on top | No published cap (soft ceiling ~26+ weeks) | Limited COBRA assistance | Reconstructed from 2022–2024 layoff reporting; Amazon publishes no formal plan |
| Google (Alphabet) | 16 weeks base + 2 weeks per year of service | No documented hard cap | 6 months health coverage | Sundar Pichai January 2023 layoff memo |
| Meta | 16 weeks base + 2 weeks per year of service | No formal cap (tenure-limited to ~46 weeks in practice) | 6 months health insurance | Mark Zuckerberg November 2022 layoff memo |
| Microsoft (2026 VSP) | 12 weeks base + 2 weeks per year of service | No formal cap | Extended (typically ~6 months) | April 2026 Voluntary Separation Program (age + tenure sum 70+ eligibility) |
| Netflix | ~4 months (~17 weeks) base pay, non-executive standard | No published formula; senior staff negotiate above | 6 months health coverage | Public reporting; "keeper test" exits, no formal formula filed |
| Salesforce | ~5 months (4+ yrs tenure) / ~4 months (shorter tenure) base pay | Tiered floor, not per-year accrual | 6 months health coverage | Marc Benioff January 2023 layoff letter + subsequent rounds |
| Oracle | 4 weeks (year 1) + 1 week per additional year | 26 weeks (reached from year 23) | 1 month subsidized COBRA | Multi-source March 2026 reporting (TechCrunch, TIME); not SEC-filed |
| Finance | ||||
| JPMorgan Chase | 2 weeks base + 2 weeks per completed year of service | Lesser of 52 weeks or $400,000 | 3–6 months subsidized (12 sometimes negotiable) | Standard non-executive plan; executives negotiated separately |
| Goldman Sachs | ~2 weeks base + 2 weeks per year (Analyst–VP track) | 2.99x base + target bonus on new Section 16 officer deals | 60 days standard (6–12 months negotiable) | Analyst–VP formula; MDs/partners negotiate the whole package |
| Bank of America | 2 weeks per year of service, 4-week minimum | 52 weeks (reported 78-week tier beyond 20 years) | COBRA extension negotiable; no published subsidy | Employee-reported consensus; BofA publishes no standard plan |
| Citigroup | 2 weeks per year of service + title-tiered garden leave (30–180 days) | 52 weeks (10+ year supplement eliminated Dec 2008) | Not subsidized — full employee cost after the notice period | Formula employee-reported; CAP/Deferred-Cash vesting in SEC exhibits |
| Wells Fargo | 60-day paid garden leave, then 8-week minimum + 2 weeks per year | 52 weeks (continuation pay, excludes garden leave) | Active-rate benefits during garden leave; COBRA after | Salary Continuation Pay Plan; employee-reported, not publicly filed |
| Healthcare | ||||
| CVS Health | Grade-tier: non-exempt 2+2 (cap 13 wks); exempt 4+2 (cap 20 wks); director (cap 44 wks) | 44 weeks (director tier); 13 / 20 weeks at lower tiers | Subsidized for the same number of weeks as severance | SEC-filed Non-Store Severance Plan (Q3 2023 10-Q Ex. 10.1) |
| HCA Healthcare | 1–4 weeks per year of service (employee-reported range) | No documented cap (post tables model a ~26-week ceiling) | Standard COBRA election only (no retiree medical) | Employee-reported; HCA publishes no SEC-filed severance plan |
| Walgreens | 4-week minimum (under 3 yrs), then 2 weeks per year of service | ~32 weeks | COBRA extension negotiable (no equity acceleration since PE deal) | Employee-reported Salary Continuation structure; not publicly filed |
Methodology
Each figure is extracted from the corresponding Severance Ledger company analysis and traced to that article's cited primary source. Formulas fall into three sourcing tiers, flagged in the Sourcing column:
- SEC-filed — the plan document appears in a public SEC filing (CVS Health's Non-Store Severance Plan; Citigroup's CAP and Deferred-Cash award agreements). Highest confidence.
- CEO memo / company statement — the formula was stated publicly by the company (Google, Meta, Salesforce, Oracle's 2026 reporting, Microsoft's 2026 VSP). High confidence on the number, though terms vary by round and business unit.
- Employee-reported consensus — the employer publishes no formal plan, and the figure is the convergent estimate across former-employee accounts (Amazon, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, HCA Healthcare, Walgreens, Netflix). Directional, not company-confirmed.
All figures describe base-salary severance only. Unvested equity (RSU/PSU) treatment, prorated bonus, deferred compensation, garden-leave pay, and outplacement sit on top of these numbers and vary widely by level and individual separation agreement. Caps and per-year rates change at each company's next major layoff round; this table reflects the most recent public reporting as of the update date below.
These are figures from public reporting, not legal or financial advice. Severance Ledger does not advise on individual packages; a specific offer should be reviewed against its own paperwork, and where law or money is at stake, with a licensed professional. See our editorial process for how each underlying article is sourced and reviewed.
Last verified
The company cluster is re-verified monthly and refreshed within days of any covered employer's layoff or severance news. Corrections: editor@severanceledger.com.