Way back in the early '80s I was field engineering manager for this little company that made digital control systems. Spent 2/3 of my time on the road, and I came back from one trip to learn that the company was declaring bankruptcy and most of us would be let go in a few weeks. It was a downer, but then I got hit with the upper: We nevertheless had about six months of work to finish, contractual commitments to customers based on inventory we'd already bought, and they offered me 50% more money to agree to stay until the bitter end.

They had a good reason. Anybody in my position watching out for his self interest would immediately start looking for another job, and not wait for the scheduled layoff. For all the employees to leave immediately would create chaos and make the bankruptcy even more destructive--to creditors and customers--than it would otherwise have been. If the company could avoid stiffing some customers by completing some projects, the bankruptcy court would make damn sure we stuck around long enough to do so.

I'd advise you to take that kind of deal if it's ever offered. The fun didn't end with more money. The CFO was tasked with selling off equipment and inventory, and he just loved it when I would lug an oscilloscope or a stack of circuit boards into his office and offer him cash US dollars for "this junk". I ended up decorating my living room with electronic equipment racks and a computer console complete with integral CRT and sculpted fiberglas tabletop, and outfitted a room as an electronics lab, for pennies on the dollar, all perfectly aboveboard.

I saw captalism's famed creative destruction in action!