>The pay sucked but the checks cleared.

That's really the calculation people need to make.

At a large tech employer? How are they doing? Is what you're working on strategic? Do you seem to be valued or are you maybe a bit on the bubble?

Depending on the answers, it may make sense to stay put or it may make sense to find a life raft even if it isn't as cushy in some ways as where you are. And, as someone else noted, industries aren't homogeneous. Individual employers matter.

I had lost a job at the time (company dissolved) and had been unemployed for six months by the time the offer was extended, so the choice was easy. If you currently have a high income job and a robust emergency fund, you can make other choices.

Well, these people are getting at least 16 weeks severance. 4 months paid to grind at interviews. Then unemployment after.

I wouldn't worry too much if I were at a similar company.

Getting laid off during Covid was a boon for many people

It's certainly a nice severance package for this day and age. That said, hiring is pretty broadly more selective right now and may well become more so.

During dot-bomb, I got lucky and landed another (lower paying) job with someone I knew at a small company. But there were a lot of people who were out of work or underemployed for a long time. And some I knew on the older side never really recovered I think.