CX procedure in the past has been to offer the candidate for dismissal an option. He can either go D and G, in which case he would not receive a reference for a future employer, or he can resign. The latter route leaves the door open for some negotiation over terms. If the company had obvious grounds for dismissal, then you would be a fool to choose D and G. Some of the 49ers had good reason to want D and G since the company would have been hard pressed to prove a case against them. Others would have gone quietly knowing they had no defence.