Some of the biggest technology industry players have announced mass layoffs in recent months. 

In most cases, companies aren't legally required to pay workers or offer benefits once their employment ends. But they're often motivated to do so to shield themselves from liability and to help defuse any hard feelings by tiding workers over while they search for new opportunities.

Many feel that severance is a very formal version of 'Don't go away mad, just go away others feel it is a reward for being loyal

You just got laid off from Air Products & Chemicals. What should you do next?

Many companies are considering how much they have to give you so that you go quietly because when a person is laid off, this has an adverse effect on them. They try to soften that blow a little,

While the amount of severance a laid-off worker gets varies widely depending on the industry, company and the employee's tenure, exit packages tend to have some standard components.

Let's take a look at what to expect from a severance package when being laid off from Air Products & Chemicals.

What's in a severance package? 

The most variable part of a severance agreement is the amount and duration of extra pay and benefits a Air Products & Chemicals worker receives. 

Severance packages can include a mix of the following:

• Financial compensation

• Extension of health care and other benefits

• A portion of one's bonus

• Accelerated vesting of stock

• Outplacement assistance or career coaching

• ‘We are seeing commonalities in things people are getting, but not the durations   We'll see the extension of benefits beyond the termination date, but as far as what those values are it depends on the company. There is no standard.'

If your job loss is part of a mass layoff, the company is required by federal law to provide at least 60 days notice under the  Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act . Employees are entitled to full pay during the notification period; but in most other cases based on federal and state law, companies don't have to pay severance at all.

They can give nothing.

How is severance calculated?

Severance packages such as a week's worth of pay per year of service while other companies may pay four weeks for every year of employment. That's the formula — it's the number of weeks you get per year, For example, a banking or financial services company can be expected to offer a couple of weeks of severance pay per year of service,

Don't count on a bonus

A bonus that's not part of a worker's base salary can also be very valuable but isn't always included in severance packages. In California, performance-based bonuses are treated like wages — workers are legally entitled to earned bonuses when they are terminated. Other states have fewer protections in place. 'With bonuses, generally speaking, unless you're almost done with your planned year, I don't see people always giving a pro-rated portion. You generally lose that in its entirety,

There's room to negotiate, however, depending on how the bonus is earned. 'If the bonus is based on objective metrics that have been met, you can argue they it has been earned up to that point, and it may need to be paid off based on the wording of the bonus commission,

Accelerated vesting

For tech workers, compensation can be complex, their severance packages typically are too. From small tech startups to giants like Google, stock in a company can be more valuable to a worker than salary.

'A lot of tech workers are really working for equity, stock options or equity grants, and these things vest over time,  'This is how most people who work for tech companies really make money. Whether you work for Google or a smaller tech company, you want a piece of the pie.'

In the case of a layoff, companies won't automatically accelerate the vesting of stock, in which case it disappears. But some will, including some of the large tech companies cutting their headcounts recently.

What did Google workers get?

Ex-Google employees bemoaned the way they were notified of layoff. Here are the latest tech layoffs as the industry shudders. When  Google  announced earlier this month that it would dismiss 12,000 employees, CEO Sundar Pichai told U.S. workers they would be paid during the 60-day notification period required under the WARN act.

The company checked other boxes, too.

Workers get a minimum of 16 weeks' salary, plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, as well as accelerated stock vesting. The company said it would also pay out workers' bonuses and unused vacation days. It also said it is extending workers health care benefits and offering job placement services for six months.

Microsoft , which on January 18 said it would cut 10,000 jobs, said benefits-eligible U.S. employees would be notified 60 days before their termination ends and receive an unspecified amount of 'above-market' severance pay, as well as six months of health care benefits, career transition assistance and stock vesting.

Can you negotiate?

In some cases, it can't hurt to ask for a better exit package if you're unhappy with the offer, experts say. Keep in mind, though, that larger companies implementing mass layoffs are unlikely to make concessions on an individual basis.

Generally speaking, for a mass layoff at these huge tech companies, the exceptions are going to be few and far between because otherwise it opens the floodgates. Smaller companies are not setting such a huge precedent necessarily, so they might have more flexibility.

Larger companies are not likely to budge.

If your company decided to lay off 12,000 people, if they make a change for one guy, everyone is going to come clamoring but if it's just you getting laid off from Air Products & Chemicals, it is often worth trying to negotiate a better exit package, especially for a long-tenured employee.

Leverage goodwill you've earned over the course of your time at Air Products & Chemicals.

Before rolling over your 401(k), take stock of the broader benefit structure Air Products & Chemicals has in place for you. One key fact: Air Products & Chemicals maintains an active defined benefit pension plan, so eligible employees continue to accrue benefits based on years of service and compensation. If you are eligible for a lump sum payout, IRS Section 417(e) segment rates determine how the future annuity stream converts to a present-value payment - rising rates compress the lump sum, so monitoring the plan's stability period and lookback month is critical before you lock in your election date. The choice between a single-life annuity, a joint-and-survivor option, or a lump sum (where available) is generally irrevocable once made, and timing that decision relative to interest rate conditions can meaningfully affect your retirement income picture.

Your healthcare coverage at Air Products & Chemicals is equally important: Air Products & Chemicals provides continued medical coverage to eligible retirees, which can bridge the gap between retirement and Medicare eligibility at age 65 or serve as a supplement to Medicare thereafter. Confirming the service and age requirements for retiree coverage, and understanding your premium contribution, is an important step in building an accurate healthcare cost projection. Coordinating Air Products & Chemicals's retiree coverage with Medicare Part B and Part D enrollment timing can also reduce duplication and avoid late-enrollment penalties. Pulling together the full range of your Air Products & Chemicals benefits into a coordinated retirement strategy helps eliminate blind spots in your planning.