First, you can fire someone based purely on salary/comp. Where companies get in trouble is many times (not all times) higher levels of compensation are reached based on achievements/performance--and these typically build with the number of years an employee is with the firm (again, not always). When they decide to fire higher compensated employees, those employees are often older (again, not always). So the question becomes did you fire them because of their age? BTW Lawyers have a field day with this one. As I said previously, that's why companies have you sign a release in exchange for receiving your severance. They know they are on shaky legal ground.
But what kind of company is it that whacks people when they reach a certain income??? They're sending the message that there is no long-term here, don't bother to develop your skills further, don't bust your ass--because it will just lead to promotions and raises that will eventually end your career.
BTW--I've worked for Fortune 100 companies and a company as small as 20 people....they all had an HR person/department.
