I received a severance package and am being let go end of 1st quarter next year
with my role going to FBT in Hungary. It will be less than 30 days before my 50th birthday. I have a few decades of service with BP. I have heard of this happening to others before. Any chance of negotiating or seeking out legal advice? Would it be worth it? Curious if anyone has heard of this. I may beg for a short extension.
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Sorry fir your troubles. Give that you are so close to 50 seek some legal advice.
Also Im wondering if the next batch of 700 will get standard severance or if they will let some go without severance. Ever since stack ranking it seems like they can get away with a lot.
Yes you should absolutely attempt to negotiate or consult with external counsel for support. If you have been at bp for a couple of decades it's a tidy sum - it's the more valuable piece of the retiree healthcare benefit vs having access to the bp medical coverage which is expensive as you bear the full cost of coverage since you are on the RRA benefit plan (post whatever healthcare severance benefit is on offer).
@OP Sorry this has happened to you. The 50 age affects whether you are eligible for bp retiree medical so this is very important. I would negotiate with HR to extend your termination for a month and you can use your vacation to bridge that gap. Otherwise, consider hiring a lawyer. Your bp retirement account is portable so whatever you accrued you have access to but it should be rolled over to an IRA to avoid taxes and penalty. Since you are not 55, the IRS rule where you can withdraw company 401K without paying a penalty won't apply to you. Good luck!
@OP I wish you the best, man. Definitely seek legal advice.
Reminder to all, not to trust said retirement benefits. It won’t materialize for most.
I’m sorry this is happening to you and wish you the best.
The last version of the severance policy that I saw (2025 version?) had a paragraph at the end that said that it immediately vested? I would recommend getting a copy of the policy and documents and going to a lawyer.