Am I liable for severance if I keep everyone on but change their job titles significantly?

Potentially, yes, even though nobody was formally let go. If a significant change to an employee's job title comes with a real reduction in duties, responsibility, seniority, or status, rather than just a label change, it can amount to a constructive dismissal at common law, regardless of whether their pay stayed the same or they technically remained "employed." Courts look at the substance of what actually changed, not just whether someone kept receiving a paycheque under a new title.

This risk connects directly to continuity of employment: if you've hired these employees as part of a going-concern business sale, they carry their full accumulated service and any associated reasonable-notice exposure with them, so a constructive dismissal claim triggered by your post-closing changes could be assessed against their entire tenure, including years worked for the seller, not just your brief period of ownership.

Before making significant role or title changes to continuing employees, assess whether the change is genuinely cosmetic or substantively reduces their position, and get advice if there's any real doubt. A Treadstone business lawyer can help you evaluate which changes carry real risk before you make them.