I'm increasingly stunned at the lack of empathy for what it's like to be an employer here on HN where, ostensibly, people are trying to learn about what it takes to become a successful startup and employer.
As an employer, I've dealt with helping people transition out of a job that has disappeared or turned out not to be right for them. I tried to do what this woman did - give the employee some extra time on my dime to find new work. If during that time that I'm paying them to hunt for a job (which costs me thousands of dollars a week, typically), if I need them to lift a finger to do something, I should feel guilty to even ask?
If I took the flip side of the attitude of a lot of people in this thread, I'd just fire an employee with minimal severance the moment he isn't making me money. That would suck.
As an employer, I've dealt with helping people transition out of a job that has disappeared or turned out not to be right for them. I tried to do what this woman did - give the employee some extra time on my dime to find new work. If during that time that I'm paying them to hunt for a job (which costs me thousands of dollars a week, typically), if I need them to lift a finger to do something, I should feel guilty to even ask?
If I took the flip side of the attitude of a lot of people in this thread, I'd just fire an employee with minimal severance the moment he isn't making me money. That would suck.