If he can't find a new job now, why would you think he's going to find one if he quits? The smart approach is to look for a new job while working at your current one. And he can't find one!

Otherwise, he'll end up spending those savings just living and looking for a job, and the government won't pay him any benefits because he quit of his own volition.

Now sure, he can learn a new trade in his free time, but the reality is that most people don't realize that's an option (they think they need to get a few years of college or something), can't learn anything useful, or they're too tired to do anything after a hard day at work.