It's a lousy way to let him go. I'd respect Yankee management more if they just fired him, rather than let him twist in the wind for 10 days. Then to make him be the one to turn down a pay cut was just wrong. I don't care how much you make, who wants to take a pay cut? I negotiated contracts for close to twenty years, first as a shop steward on a negotiation committee, then as a business agent, and I'll tell you this: Every single time management asks you to take a cut, they want you out. It was just a cheap way to let him go.