There's clearly a level of money you could offer that would get most people taking it and I sort of agree that $3000 isn't a huge test of loyalty, but at the same time its a really good idea.
The people who are most effected by relatively small amounts of money like this are marginal employees - people who don't really think they'll be happy at Zappos or are just working there until something better comes along. If you're getting rid of people who wouldn't have stuck around that long anyways it seems like a really good deal for Zappos (you don't have to pay the wages of the employee _or the people who were training them_). It seems like a really good and obvious in retrospect idea that many other companies might be wise to adopt.
The people who are most effected by relatively small amounts of money like this are marginal employees - people who don't really think they'll be happy at Zappos or are just working there until something better comes along. If you're getting rid of people who wouldn't have stuck around that long anyways it seems like a really good deal for Zappos (you don't have to pay the wages of the employee _or the people who were training them_). It seems like a really good and obvious in retrospect idea that many other companies might be wise to adopt.