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I recently re-watched "Jerry Maguire" on Amazon Prime, and there is one scene that confuses me (I was a kid when the movie came out so I didn't notice this then.)

Bob Sugar, Maguire's "protege", takes him out to lunch and tells Jerry he's been laid off. Jerry is shocked, but rushes back to his office and starts calling all his clients asking them to move with him. At the end of the day, he packs his belongings for the last time, asks if anyone wants to join him, and exits the office.

I've never seen a situation where someone who is laid off is allowed to work in the office till the end of the day, especially when turning into a competitor for the firm. Usually they are allowed to pack up their belongings and are escorted out the door as soon as possible.

Is there something I missed in the film, or was that how layoffs were handled in the 90s when the movie came out?

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    That's not a rule everywhere in the world, I've worked in companies where people got fired and were allowed to work til the end of the day. Also not escorted out by security.
    – Luciano
    Commented Oct 18, 2018 at 8:44

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Since this is a key scene in the movie, things had to bend a bit. Normally the last thing you want a fired salesman/agent to do is start calling their clients in order to retain them (especially in the office).

Jerry was implicitly allowed to call his clients as his manifesto made him toxic, and his employers knew this (it was the reason for the firing after all). They knew that his clients would leave him, so allowed them to tell him so. This theory bears out after the vast majority of his clients turn him down and Jerry's life unravels in front of all of his co-workers.

We're firing you and your clients don't want you either

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