Yes I'm with you. First thing that happens is i) BOD tells management to do layoff's to preserve cash then ii) Legal talks to outside or inside counsel and gets the generic playbook for layoffs (including termination template language) then iii) CEO, CFO and VP of HR discuss actual terms of severance. Maybe even one gets simply two weeks. Maybe more senior (time or responsibility) get 3 or 4 weeks etc. Either way decision is determined and married to boilerplate RIF template. iv) String of events leads to a writer ($50,000 a year? $75,000 a year?) looking at a paltry two weeks of revenue in exchange for disparagement clause. Seems completely out of whack with his beliefs and the amount being offered.
And frequently the # is negotiable, though it can require a lawyer to do the negotiating. Some work on contingency. (I've never been through the process, but have seen enough layoffs to have watched people negotiate their #s)
