#personalstory

Well, partner… I knew somethin’ was driftin’ my way the moment I walked into Dell Tthat mornin’. The air felt different—like the quiet before a desert storm. Folks were lookin’ at me with that soft, sympathetic smile people give a man who’s about to hear somethin’ he ain’t gonna like.
I sat down, opened my laptop, and before I could even take a sip of my coffee—ding.
A meeting invite.
HR.
Mandatory.
Immediate.
That’s the corporate version of a tumbleweed rollin’ across your path.

I walked into that little conference room, and there they were: HR lady with her practiced gentle voice, my manager lookin’ like he’d spent the night thinkin’ about how to break bad news without breakin’ my spirit.

She said, “We’re restructuring the organization.”

I tipped my head, smiled a little. “Well ma’am… life’s been restructurin’ me since the day I was born.”

Then she said it—soft, slow, like she was singin’ a sad country tune:
“Your position has been eliminated.”

And I swear, for a moment, the room felt like the inside of an old ho--y‑tonk—quiet, dusty, full of memories. They slid a packet across the table, thick as a Sunday newspaper, full of “resources” and “next steps.” I flipped through it like it was sheet music for a song I didn’t wanna play.

I packed up my desk—my mug, my pens, my little notebook full of ideas that never quite made it to the stage—and I walked out. Folks nodded at me like I was ridin’ off into the sunset.

But when I stepped outside…
The sun hit me warm.
The breeze carried that familiar whisper.
Freedom.

I took a breath, felt the weight lift off my shoulders, and smiled.
“Dell,” I said under my breath, “you just gave me a reason to get back on the road again.”

And I walked toward my truck, feelin’ that old Wi---e rhythm in my bones—soft, steady, hopeful. Because sometimes life closes a door just to remind you you’ve still got miles to travel, songs to sing, and places to be.

And brother… I was ready to roll.

After many, many years it is my time to leave the stage coach. I ran to the store, bought myself some drinks and floated in the pool with friends. It’s a great day

It was a difficult decision to retire but I new it was the decision I needed to make for my health. BNY was attributing to my stress and unhappiness. Longer hours, more responsibility and less pay had become the norm and i no longer "enjoyed" my job as a didbin the past. It has been 6 months since I retired and I am a new person. I am relaxed, easy to be around and learned how to laugh and smile again. I cannot explain it, it is just freeing. People told me I am a changed person in a good way, too.
If you can retire and afraid to pull the trigger, don't be. You will not regret saving yourself. The firm will not blink an eye when you are gone. Some inexperienced person will take over and life goes on.

'cause now you are not a stable provider

Laid off a couple of months ago. On my last day I left a leaving note, thank you, wish you well etc and also my new email address and cell #.
Got a call from my old boss last week. Started off asking me how I was doing etc and then had the gaul to ask me about some project work I was working on before he let me go.
I was polite in saying, sorry, no idea and quickly finished the call.
Anyone else had this ? Its laughable.

I have been without a job for two years now. I owe special thanks to WF. Ever since employers see WF on my resume, my applications seem to be ignored, leaving me feeling as though I have been pushed into early retirement.

Thank you WF.

They cut me in 2002 one month before my daughter was due. As an RF Engineer I tried to explain to them that the carriers have their own engineers and that marketing the towers to them wouldn't work. They already knew where they needed towers. I emphasized that our efforts would be best spent by getting towers, (often disguised as flagpoles, church steeples, palm trees, etc.) through the zoning process before anyone else did. Deaf ears.

I guess being laid off is my anniversary gift? Fu-k them.

Single parent here. I have to send my kids to live with their grandparents this summer, over 120 miles away because I cannot afford summer camps or day cares.
I'll get see them 2 days a week on weekends, whenever I'm NOT on-call.

Saw someone on LinkedIn posted the best message I’ve seen. No s-b story, no anger, no how bad it’s going to be without them, etc. Instead a message on helping pick others up, laugh, smile, etc. Reflection wasn’t self promoting of all their accomplishments but instead centered around being touched personally by those who reached out.

Can’t remember their name because not a contact but the most real and human way to navigate. The self promoting, company bashing, or s-b story posts are all too common.

This is very different than another tech person post who basically said “I’m so amazing don’t even ask me to waste time writing my achievements on a resume. I’ll just tell them to you if you want to talk.”

I used to read about people separating from the company and they talked of how better their health was after leaving. I never believed them. I've been gone 1.5 years and just had my blood work done. My numbers were the best they've been in 5 years indicating less stress and a better overall health balance. So...now I see it. It is true. Getting out could be the best thing that ever happens to you. I didn't see it at the time, but I sure do see it now.

I live in a state that no longer has a hub, I cannot move, so I am unable to get a claims job, since claims is hybrid my job was approved for the exit program, almost 20 years with this company Im losing my job.. its a very odd feeling to be in this position as im sure it is with so many others. I was a very loyal employee and this is how my job ends. Its quite sad.. defeated doesnt even discribe how i feel...

Just got off a call with a bunch of colleagues that were let go. Good talk but it was really surprising that some of them, after been kicked to the curb via an effing EMAIL after in some cases 20+ years are still in contact with their former team and HELPING them? I suspect that some will have to go back to their home country or whatever but ORACLE LET YOU GO! There is no loyalty there, I'd rather take on a lesser role than go back like a sniveling little coward! I have some pride and can go back to being a Mom and wife then consider if working again makes sense...
Call me crass but there is no effing way I am going to help a company that let me go in this manner. I know a lot of us had a lot of our identity tied up in working, sad actually as its 'Work to live not live to Work' Unless you have an ugly husband (or wife) and would rather work than be with them. The paychecks are nice but there is a lot of meaning to life outside of money. Remember that...

A former coworker was laid off last year. I saw a post from him recently. He looks like a different person. Relaxed, smiling, actually happy. I'm not jealous exactly. Just aware that leaving changed something for him. I'm glad he got out.

Before I got cut, I told myself the severance would soften the blow. Once it happened and the money showed up, it didn't fix how I felt. Not one bit. After years of giving everything to Oracle, they let me go with hardly a word of thanks. The check does not help the feeling that comes with that. I'm still not over it, and it's been months.

My manager has been putting me on a performance improvement plan since the last quarter. There are seven people in our group, and I feel like I was being singled out compared to others. I have been with the company for 17 years and, for the last 16 years, I consistently met performance expectations every year. However, in the most recent middle and year-end reviews, I was marked as not meeting expectations, which feels inconsistent and surprising.

Additionally, there have been significant changes in the team, including the introduction of more offshore resources, which has impacted the overall team structure and workload distribution.

There is also another person in my team who has had performance issues and took leave last month, Overall, this job has felt very draining on people, especially recently.

Today, I was terminated from my position. I feel it’s time for me to reset, reflect, and carefully think about my next steps and career direction. Wishing everyone the best moving forward.

Being employed is still better than job hunting while unemployed, so that's what I've been doing. The office has been chaotic for months, which means I can focus on what actually matters to me. Management's inability to manage through layoffs? Not my problem.

She was once laid off. Now, her friends at Oracle just lost jobs. Her warning: Realise that 'your job is never your value' - The Economic Times https://share.google/8fSRzo9lnfaJQTPW8

I’m due with my baby in a month and I cannot help but feel so bitter. I was laid off back in February and have felt nothing but stress since. Genuinely hate myself for ever considering joining this company.

I kept asking how I was doing despite having 1 bad mid year and now I just got let go. They just kept quiet for no reason and then told me its over.

I never realized how hard the hours worked and weekend on calls were… not for me but my wife. She is fortunate enough to have a job that is pretty much 8-4 everyday.
She never complained when, during the lockdown, about the times I was at my home office desk and she had to bring me a plate of food for dinner. It seems I was never on time for an afterwork appt or meeting. I’ll never forget the time that I was nearly fired for not taking an on-call weekend because my sister was getting married. The boss knew about this four months in advance.

On my last day, a Saturday, I promised to be home on time. And I was. She met me at the door dressed like we were going to a fancy restaurant. She hugged me being careful not o muss her makeup (An inside joke) the scent of her perfume was soon taking a backseat to another of my favorite aromas. She had spent the day making my favorite dish, lasagna with home baked bread and carrot cake for dessert.

I started a new Job a month later. Lower pay, but better hours. That following Saturday I made her favorite dinner.

It’s funny, but it took a layoff to get me to realize what a lousy job I had but more importantly, what a lucky man I am to have such a wife.

How’s it going all? My single mattress just fits in. Almost like design.

At least the store just outside the hills gate Is open again.

I left in 2020. Been out six years. Best decision of my life. I have a 25-year professional life and I can easily say Honeywell was the worst company I have ever worked for.

I now make SUBSTANTIALLY more and have so much less stress.

It won't get better. Your work environment won't improve. No one is going to fix it for you. They don't care. Leave. They will simply hire another su---r to fill your spot.

Today was my last day in Enterprise Technology. I can't say I'm surprised, this position wasn't really right for me and I could see my own performance for what it was. Nothing unfair. I'm just curious if there's a trend going on in other parts of the company too.

VP II here, or as they call it now VP.

I saw a SR VP position posted that was listed as a 'pipeline' position. They shouldn't list positions they aren't actually hiring for currently but I digress.

I applied to it and let the hiring manager know. We met. He told me he has a VP position that may be available soon too. He said they aren't allowed to hire internally if it's up a salary grade (promotion). He thought that it was a company wide policy but wasn't certain. The job is in asset servicing. Does anyone know more about this? The amount of positions available has been down a lot the past few years for SVP.

The calendar invite arrived about 90 minutes before the call. It just said ‘Catch-up’. I knew what it was before I even clicked "Join."

My manager was already there but no one from HR attended. He stayed on script—no small talk, just the standard lines about "headcount reduction" and "operating model changes." It was all over in 15 minutes.

There’s something incredibly bleak about being let go from your own living room. One click and my entire professional identity for over 10 years just disappeared. My access was cut before I could send a message to my team. My Citi email disappeared from Outlook on my mobile. My account on the OneNote app also deleted but it left a lot of the data behind lol - meeting notes, PowerPoints etc. So typical of Citi, nothing works properly.

I was left sitting in Tampa in my house with a laptop that’s just a brick to be returned. I woke up in the morning to go to work, i ended the day with no job and no plan for tomorrow.

You are nothing more to any company than a line on a spreadsheet. They look at the cost of keeping you as an employee versus the cost of dumping you. A company accountant ran an algorythm on a speadsheet and you are choosen. You may have has a less than stellar review 5 years ago aka your boss is toxic. Perhaps your department is a cost center that needs to be trimmed to improve the balance sheet, or you make over the median salary for someone in your band. They often outsource to replace IT departments and marketing/sales. They could cut staff as a way to hide losses, without admitting it to the street. What ever the cause you are gone. Do the stages of grief, own it, but keep moving.

When Unilever laid me off 20 years ago, I had small children, alimony, and lots of bills. I drank th corporate Kool-Aid back then. I had to su-k it up and make finding a job my job. I worked retail while I looked, I did odd freelance jobs to keep my skills up. I did take another job at a lower salary 2 years later at another insurance company, then went to Cigna. The thing was, I survived, and when I felt the enviornment at Cigna had nothing left to offer me after 5 years, I put out my resume and moved on. I fired Cigna. I realized my job doesn't define me. I depend on me, not a company. It was a tough journey that humbled me. I survived and then I thrived.

It’s been a few weeks since I was laid off, and nothing promising has landed yet. I keep hearing stories about how this is supposed to turn into a fresh start, but right now it’s just applications and silence. Severance buys some time, not peace of mind. I’m trying to believe the positive turn comes later, even if it’s hard to see from here.

Somebody told me they were laid off four times throughout their entire career, and I can't wrap my head around it. How do you survive something like that? I'm worried about how I'd take being laid off once, but to have it happen to me more times? No. Just, no. Does it get easer or harder? I literally can't even imagine what that'd feel like.

After 14 years as a TSR my team is being let go……

I was laid off a while back. I really messed up during my layoff meeting.
I had enough service time to get the maximum severance and had kind of seen it coming and had taken steps to prepare for the next chapter of my career. So I was more or less going to be ok.
All the same it was upsetting and I let them see how upset I was, which was exactly the response they wanted.
I should have just laughed in their faces and walked out.

My role was eliminated in Cybersecurity. Put in 9 years of hardwork to keep Pearson safe. I have 7 different managers in 9 years because managers kept leaving. Saved the company from so many disasters. Sigh!

But I’m so glad I got laid off. I landed a great job within days. Don’t get me wrong, it was pure d-mb luck, and I know that’s far from the reality of the job market right now. I honestly wish the same break for everyone. We don’t deserve to live in constant fear of losing a job and then struggling endlessly to find another. Life should feel like living, not just surviving.

Exciting :)

I have been laid off.
I started in 2008. The CEO when I started was Lowell McAcadam.
I did not pay much attention at the time as to who was CEO.
However, I did know the man who sat in the cube next to me (name withheld). He was an elderly man (comparatively) . I still do not know what his job function was. I did however overhear his conversations. Just because i was there. Behind his grizzled visage I discovered the kindest most considerate man I have ever met.

I decided this was a good job.

He is gone now.

As things worked out I became very tightly entwined with Ericsson (a Verizon equipment provider). Including Equipment configuration, optimization and to a lesser extent design.

This was a beautiful thing.

It has been defiled

I was laid off at USB over a year ago. After 10 years of service working from home, it all ended with a 1 minute and 34 second phone call. For weeks I kept Googling “US Bank layoffs” just to feel like I wasn’t alone. The searches always brought me here to The Layoff, and amidst the rants and raves, I never felt alone (and I still visit every week).

The months that followed were rough. Interviews went nowhere, and applications disappeared into a black hole. In May I finally landed a role with another bank. Life has been good since, but working full-time in an office created new challenges: endless politics, meaningless small talk, and a cubicle that feels like a creative prison.

A couple months ago, while taking a juicy dump on the executive floor (it just feels so right), I had an idea: A platform where current and former employees can anonymously share stories about the good, bad, and ugly moments inside their companies. I call it WorkWhisper. Right now, it’s a webapp, but I plan to expand to iOS/Android if it grows.

Ultimately, I'm convinced that my life will continue and end inside of a cubicle (and face more layoff scares), but if what I was inspired to build helps a few people voice their feelings, then I'm happy. I hope this doesn't come across as an inauthentic way to promote myself, that wasn't the intention. I just wanted to share my journey about life after layoff at USB, and the good that came out of it. If you’d like to check it out, visit www.TheWorkWhisper.com and share a work moment... the uglier the better ;)

I am fighting off the bitterness because part of me keeps replaying all the signs I ignored. I should have trusted my own instincts when the job stopped feeling right, and I regret not taking that seriously and not leaving on my own terms. It hits hard when you put in the effort, stay loyal, and still end up pushed out the door.

Ansys was a great company to work for. I didn't get that same impression from Synopsys, but I guess that comes with working for a much larger company.

It was a good 5 years.

Just got laid off this morning out of the midland office. I felt so bad for the hr rep who called it was hard for her to tell me. But all is well holding my head up and ready for the next challenge. Got to comfortable at cop and was looking for something new anyway. Good luck to everyone else. Remember there is always something better for you.