Rewarding a Bludger

I work in a cutthroat industry. There are several telecommunications equipment vendors out there and only a limited pool of customers. My company has a reputation as a market leader, however, is also relatively expensive and cost cutting, efficiencies and transformations are always at the front of upper managements plans. Labor costs being what they are, the Australian employee base has been gradually eroding over many years whilst people sparred are encouraged to be more adaptable and take on more work.

There is one particular employee who has been with the company a little over 8 years. He has a reputation for being invisible - he is a good talker but never does any work. His manager is based in Melbourne. My workplace allows people to work from home, but he takes true advantage of the privilege and turns up on average about once a month. There have often been snickerings my many, including yours truly, on just how he manages to keep his job. Is his manager incompetent? Is he blinded by this employees gift with words? Does this employee have a medical or personal condition making it difficult to get rid of him for legal reasons?

I have seen him turn up to work three times this week. Today I found out that he had been made redundant. He had kept the news quiet while he works his notice period, but will be entitled to at least 6 months pay. I think it is a positive move for the company as it is about time they cut their losses with this guy and am very surprised that it took them this long.

My walking partner was unaware of the redundancy until I told him, which is slightly odd since they are technically part of the same team. He is an older employee that would be ecstatic with a golden handshake and has a similar negative opinion of the employee in question. When I broke the news, he was quite upset. "Why is he rewarded for doing nothing?". He has a point - a more proactive manager could have dismissed him without a package. Maybe its because I am not looking for a package that I see the benefits of getting rid of him by any means outweighing the drawbacks of retaining him.