[Dottore]

Rick:

I have in the past been involved in several situations with clients where the terminating employer agreed to waive the non-compete as part of the severance. Might that be an option for you?

In many cases these non-compete clauses are included in employment contract as a matter of course, and the employer really has no interest in enforcing them if he is terminating you for reasons not related to your performance (ie. downsizing reasons).

This might be something to bear in mind in any severance discussion. No one likes to lay people off and employers can be quite reasonable (even generous) in these situations.