‘Received the bad news on my bday’: Developer with 5 YOE loses job despite heavy project dependency, leaves many stunned

For many people, birthdays are synonymous with celebrations, friend calls, family dinner, and looking forward to the next years ahead. For the Mumbai-based software developer, it meant the day of job termination. The developer mentioned on a Reddit post, that he was laid off on his birthday along with seven other workers. The only strange twist that the developer described was that he was involved in many projects. Like many developers, he always had the expectation that being in many projects entailed job security.

The software developer with 5 years of experience had worked with React, Node.js, React Native, AWS, and SQL. He further explained that the company was undergoing a shift and wanted to reduce its reliance on the India tech team. He was surprised to hear that but he had started preparing for interviews and had been working on his side project that had been earning him $400 in the past two months.

Modern job terminations have taught professionals that companies are willing to cut off employees based on the business needs. A lot of professionals will always think that being in many departments is enough to prevent a layoff, but unfortunately, it does not mean you will be safe from being laid off.

Employees are laid off on the account of business needs, and the strategy of the company. In recent times, there have been so many trends in the tech space that have left employees wondering what the next curve will be. Companies have been going through a lot of rebranding, restructuring, and reshaping their strategies to be more efficient in the current business ecosystem. Some companies have opted to move from one geographic location to another hence lay-offs to meet new business needs.

The main takeaway from the layoffs is that an employee’s value and the company’s needs are not synonymous. The importance that employees placed on being on various projects does not translate to job security because the company’s business needs take a different turn.

Job loss is never good news to any employee, it entails a mix of emotions that can only be understood by a person who has been through it. A layoff on a birthday could be an additional twist that makes the whole experience even more traumatizing. Birthdays are always a day of remembrance, celebration for people who make it to another year. This could be the day of meeting new people, setting new resolutions, and looking forward to achieving more in life. These could be the last days of a good or bad relationship or the day of seeing more friends.

People who have gone through layoff experiences always describe it as a sudden shock, on the day they were still interacting with colleagues and setting meeting agendas, the next day, they are already updating their resume and reaching out to recruiters. This is mostly traumatic to mid-career employees who are already burdened with financial burdens and a long-term career plan. A lot of these employees are usually in their mid-level management jobs with a lot of expectations to climb up the ladder to the C-suite, a layoff could be a huge deterrent to this dream. Most employees who were laid off in the past were in a position to rethink their options and were able to pursue the much-needed change.

The topic of layoff discussions always ignites many differing opinions and experiences from various people. One of the commenters mentioned the same experience with her husband and how glad they were after the whole ordeal, “Same happened with my husband, turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise in hindsight.”

Another commenter described the disconnect between project success and employee security, “I am running several projects at 45-50% margins and I am told by my boss that the projects (4 of them put together) do not have the margin for my salary!.”

A commenter went as far as describing the layoff as a ‘Worst birthday gift’. However, the same commenter was concerned with the overall impact of the business needs over employees, “business needs have much greater impact on employees than on businesses” The commenter further wished the Mumbai-based developer not to give up and asked whether he would take a break from work to work on the side project.

Modern layoffs have been described as more of a crossroads than a disaster. Most employees who are laid off are always considering various options that will help them get to the next level in their careers. For many professionals, the time after a layoff is the fastest time in their career growth.

Most people are preparing for interviews during this time while some are perfecting their portfolio and skills. What the Mumbai-based developer is doing is the most practical option in the current business scenario. While preparing his portfolio for the next interview, he is still working on his side project with hopes that it will generate enough funds to sustain him.

Being a mid-career employee entails that you are always in a volatile and unpredictable environment where you are never sure of your job security. The main lesson that modern employees are learning from the constant wave of layoffs is that the ability to switch careers is the only reliable skill in the modern workforce. The value that employees placed on being in many departments does not translate to job security because the company’s business needs take a different turn. What comes after the devastating layoff news is always a crossroads in which people choose to either look back or move forward in their career paths.