Laws will differ in different places, but I’m familiar with 3 categories of terminations:
With cause (firing)
Without cause (layoff)
Voluntary (quitting)
When someone is terminated with cause or quits, they are not entitled to severance and they do not collect unemployment insurance. When someone is laid off, the employer is obligated to pay a severence package.
The Amazon focus and pivot program is interesting. That definitely looks like they’re bribing low performers to quit, and I smell an ulterior motive. Maybe it’s to get them to sign an NDA but I feel like it’s to avoid wrongful dismissed lawsuits. Although I suppose why not both?