There are rumors going around that store managers are going to be asking partners to take unpaid leave or voluntarily quit and take da severance package? Does anyone have information on this? I’m kind of confused. If I take the unpaid leave will I qualify for unemployment? (I’m from California)

Update: there are 3 options we can choose from.
1) keep working and be transferred out if needed for business needs
2) take voluntary LOA until September, Starbucks your healthcare premiums and you MAY be eligible for unemployment (I checked with California and most likely not because it’s a voluntary LOA), however if your store manager needs you to come back they expect you to go back to work with it 2-3 days with open availability, if you can’t go back to work with open availability or you don’t feel comfortable going back to work you will be terminated.
3) take the severance package where you’ll be paid out for 80 hours in one lump sum, you would qualify for COBRA and their ridiculous healthcare premiums (for my spouse and I it would be $3200 for health and $200 for dental) and be marked down and “involuntary separation” but still be rehireable.
With that said, you can only pick one option. You can’t decide in a week that you want to take the LOA or the severance package you can only choose one.
I honestly think this is a way for Starbucks to cut labor and not have to worry about paying people or having to fire them and force them to take LOA so they don’t have to pay unemployment. We shall see if they are forced to lay people off for force them to take LOA though.