> for many companies its a formal warning that you need to shape up or you're going to be let go.
Patently incorrect. A PIP is management telling you that you need to seek alternative employment, now.
Joking/sarcasm aside: I’ve never seen or heard someone who is placed on a PIP successfully “exit” the PIP. They exit the company or they’re exited from the company. PIPs seem to mark the start of the “we are building formal documentation to fire you” phase of losing a job.
