It is a very poor idea to make withdrawals from his 401k due to the severe penalties. But, if your friend ends up losing his job and in financial distress, there is a hardship exception to the withdrawal penalty. I don't know the specifics but if he is unable to pay necessary living expenses with current income (meaning going into foreclosure or getting evicted) then the money in a 401k can be used to relieve this burden.
But from the sound of it, he is just worried he might lose his job but isn't to that point yet. I haven't been able to find any other exceptions that your friend could use to get past that penalty. If he is worried about losing his job, the best option would be to get an emergency fund built up if he doesn't have one yet and lower some expenses in preparation for the job loss.
It just isn't worth the 10% penalty in addition to the taxes that need to be paid on the 401k to withdraw early.
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