Basic Sources:
Severance pay -- Basic Sources
The Sefer Hachinuch on giving presents to a freed Hebrew servant and
Maimonides' 8 Levels of Tzedaka (charity)

In the News
Aaron Feurstein and the the Malden Mills Fire -- After a fire that destroyed most of the historic Malden Mills textile complex CEO Aaron Feuerstein kept his promise to rebuild while keeping his employees on the payroll.
"Portrait: Aaron Feuerstein," Hadassah Magazine
"Not a Fool, Not a Saint" Fortune Magazine -- React to this article.

The New York Times landmark series, "The Downsizing of America"

Dr. Meir Tamari: Downsizing and Stakeholder Capitalism -- A Jewish Perspective, Dr. Meir Tamari, Director, the Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, Jerusalem College of Technology -- Machon Lev

Responsa: "How to Treat a Dismissed Employee" What happens when a layed-off worker continues to work? From the records of the Haifa Rabbinical Court

"'Give them Back Their Cloaks!' Rabba bar bar Chana and his Porters,” An aggadic passage from the Talmud (Bava Metzia 83a)

"Dilemmas in Downsizing," a panel discussion with Rabbi Zev Leff, Bob Rosenshein (founder of Accent Software), and Professor Noah Meltz in real audio of

Forum on Downsizing: What responses should be taken for the good health, sanity and productivity of the survivors of downsizing?
Respond to reader Hershel H. Frankiel