Someone needs to report Riverbed to the US Department of Labor for wrongful/illegal employee termination practices because they clearly engage in it. Ever wonder why your hard working and performing coworkers are suddenly sacked? It's discrimination - age or otherwise. Riverbed Legal is aware of CA's WARN Act and avoids it by mixing in those under 40 (collateral).
Are you past the age of 40? Have tenure? Paid relatively well? Top performer? Smart? Yes man/woman? Ambitious? Vocal? Manages up? Capable? Productive? Well liked? If you answered to most of these questions, congratulations - you're likely a target to be laid off next.
Leadership is threatened by people like this because it threatens their livelihood - most likely your boss. These people make others around them look lazy and stupid by setting the curve. This paints you as not playing well with others.
The insecure and jealous boss doesn't wants someone they can't control, so to keep peace for themselves. Simply put, they're a-holes that won't go far. Legal/HR/upper management wants peons to stay peons. As a result, this dysfunctional company rewards a-holes who are lazy (not in a good way), takes others' work as their own, and are brown-nosers.
I've seen too many truly good talented people sent away with an insult of a package. If it wasn't for the soft market, I would have left long ago. Riverbed is now a place where careers come to die.