What IBM Does Is Clearly Illegal in the US: Tying Severance Packages to NDAs (Non-Disparagement Agreement/Clause)
It's not "legalised hush money", it is a form of extortion or conditional 'bribe' (with money one is unconditionally entitled to)
December 2025: IBM Forces Staff to Sign an NDA If They Want Severance Package, in Effect Bribing Them or Denying Them Money They're Entitled to If They 'Disparage' IBM | IBM: We Pay You to be Obedient or Deny You What You're Entitled to If You Don't Act Obediently | IBM Layoffs: It's Like They Read From a Script, Like They've Signed a Non-Disparagement Agreement/Clause
As we noted 3 years ago (and several more times since then), this practice of IBM is illegal, but it is unlikely anyone subjected to an RA would lawyer up against IBM and not settle out of court (or with another NDA, hiding the outcome and evidence in the case). IBM knows the severance payments aren't high enough to incentivise a prolonged and expensive legal challenge.
As noted minutes ago in this older thread:
This lady who got the boot apparently did not even mention it until a month later. This was an hour ago (unless she mentioned it last month or last year this is the first time):
What is going on at IBM?
Don't ask the corporate media. It gets paid by IBM to do articles about IBM. Suffice to say, that's not journalism. To game Wall Street there's Cramer the Humongous, who cannot even pronounce the names of his guests or their companies. Paid plugs. Fake recommendations.
The NDAs make things worse; they keep people isolated and silent. █