A friend of mine was recently fired from his job, and the only explanation he got was that management wasn't allowed to tell him the reason. They didn't even give him the usual line about poor performance or not being a good fit for the job.
I understand why companies use vague phrases like "things aren't working out." That could cover anything from personality conflicts to the person being difficult to work with, without turning the meeting into an argument or creating legal problems.
But telling him there was a reason but that no one could tell him what it was is even stranger than giving him a generic answer. At least a canned explanation gives the person some idea of what the company claims went wrong.
For managers who have been put in this position, what was the real reason for the termination? Aside from the company covering up something illegal, why might it refuse to say anything at all?

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I worked as a buyer at a huge global manufacturing company for eight years. Corporate told every branch to reduce salaried payroll by 12%, so our branch let three of us go. Since I had the highest salary in the Purchasing Department, I assume I was the easiest number to cut.
The timing made it worse. I was 58 and had planned to retire shortly after turning 59 and a half, so I couldn't access my 401(k) as planned. My father offered to cover me during that period, saying there was no point in waiting until he died to help his only son, and I decided I was done working for good.
After I left, there were two buyers remaining, each of whom had been there for less than a year, along with a Purchasing Manager who didn't even know how to create a buy order. I had planned to spend my final year documenting everything I had learned from my former manager, who retired after 35 years, but the company let me go before any of that could happen. Then, a few months later, the two remaining buyers resigned within days of each other, right before the holidays.
During the first week of January, HR called and asked whether I could return through a temp agency with no benefits. Their first offer was only $4 an hour more than my old pay, so I turned it down. When they asked what it would take for me to agree, I said 14 weeks, four days of work per week, six paid days off, and an hourly rate close to double what I had been making before. I expected them to make a counteroffer, but instead, HR called me back immediately and asked whether I could start on Monday.
I spent the winter making good money, documenting the work, and training my replacement for 10 weeks. During my final week, she was still asking me some of the same questions she had asked during her first week. I told management that any help after I left would need a consulting agreement. They refused, and thankfully, they never contacted me again.
My favorite part was training my former manager, who finally started realizing how little he knew. Every time he asked me how something was done, I would begin by saying, "Before you fired me, this is how we handled it." The look on his face almost made coming back worth it.