‘Good luck replacing me’: Senior machinist gets fired for 'doing his job too well', company ends up hiring 5 employees to replace him

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Nov 27, 2023 10:00 AM EST

'If you don't like it, find another job', said a grouchy manager through clenched teeth, certain that his employee would back down like a pup from a wolf, but to his dismay, this machinist did not take the bait. 'Good luck replacing me', said the machinist, grabbing his things and taking off, not forgetting to inform the manager that he would take ALL his accrued PTO & vacation time for the next 2 weeks.

This is what happens when companies hire managers without a day of experience. A machinist took to Reddit to explain why he had gotten fired, and what had happened in the wake of his replacement. When I read stories like this, I wonder who on earth approved the firing, but hey, I am not a micromanager so my brain is still somewhat intact.

After reading through this story, you can check out another one about a manager who demanded their worker choose between grad school and work. Hmmm, I wonder what he was thinking… that the worker would quit, I guess. But it did not work out exactly as he thought it would.

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    O
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    The ONLY time I've ever heard of someone getting in trouble for doing MORE than required. XL OC This turned out to be much longer than I thought it would, especially for a first- timer, but I hope you find it worth it.
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  • 03
    Many years ago, I worked at a company that manufactured medical & scientific testing machines (think shakers, small centrifuges, etc.). I originally started there as a machinist, until I hurt my knee at work (8 years & 5 surgeries later & it's STILL not fixed). After my injury, I switched over to the assembly side because that was more accommodating for my new limitations.
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  • 04
    Long story short, I was VERY good at my job, coming up with new ways to streamline several processes, new ways to assemble various things quicker than before, generally doing more work than my job description called for. and even having the temerity to prove the engineers wrong on multiple occasions. With everything I could do, I knew it would require the company to hire AT LEAST 3 people to replace me should I leave.
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  • 05
    It was announced one day that the Assembly Manager (AM) was leaving that job (whether for another position within the company or the company altogether, I don't recall) & anyone who was interested could apply for it, with a promise that inside personnel would have the inside track over outside
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    applicants. I put together my resumé and went for it. The son-in-law of the company's owner was doing the interviews, which I aced (he went so far as to tell me that my resumé was by far the most professional & complete he'd ever seen.), but I didn't get the job. No hard feelings: I just went back to doing what I had been doing.
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    Well, as it turned out, they hired a friend of the owner's son-in-law as the new AM. So much for that inside track, huh? It seemed to me, as well as my coworkers, that we weren't even at the same racecourse, but whatever. I could deal with it. I don't know what that guy's previous work experience was, but it became abundantly clear very
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    early on that he was out of his depth. He had no clue why & how things were done the way they were, but he decided a couple of weeks after his hiring that he was going to change everything about the assembly area.
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    One of the things he decided was that we were no longer allowed to exceed the number of machines assembled per day, nor were we permitted to skip over machines to get to others, regardless of the issue (engineering issues, bad parts, wrong parts from the warehouse, etc. Some of those parts came from the machine shop side, but
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    many from outside companies, too), but we ALSO weren't allowed to stand around waiting for new parts from the warehouse. We couldn't even get with the warehouse personnel to help find the parts we needed or help them get the parts into our assembly area. "NO MORE DOING MORE!" became our mantra. Productivity & quality PLUMMETED. Needless to say, none of
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    the assembly team was happy in the slightest. I tried. I really did, but I have issues with NOT doing things to the best of my ability. I also have issues with not being able to fill my workday with work. You know - what I'm being paid for? I would be the absolute WORST person to ask about quiet quitting.
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    A few months into the new AM's tenure, my station was at a standstill due to an engineering problem with a new variant of a machine that I could practically build blindfolded. I had 4-5 college-educated engineers crowding my station attempting to figure out a problem that arose only AFTER the machine was fully assembled (which I explained EXACTLY how it could be
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    fixed with minimal effort, BTW, and I was correct, but that's a different story). While waiting for the engineers to come to the same conclusion as me (they did...eventually), I went to the warehouseman responsible for pulling the parts I needed to assemble & asked him to switch over to a different machine I was going to build.
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    The AM happened to wander over just then & asked what I was doing. I explained the situation with the engineers & that I was currently unable to work on those machines & rather than standing there looking lazy, I was trying to get a jumpstart on the other machines I needed to build that day. At no point did I get sarcastic, which is my
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    normal mode of communication, or mean, nor was I flippant in any way whatsoever. I was merely trying to get some work done that we BOTH knew needed to get done. He starts loudly berating me in front of the entire shop, both the assembly area AND the machine shop, specifically saying, "You're not allowed to do more than
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    what I tell you to do, in the order I tell you to do it!". I placated him as best I could & went back to my work area, which was still overrun with engineers & settled down for a long wait. Cue the MC, because I didn't work on another machine for the rest of the day, not because I didn't want to, but because I was told I wasn't allowed.
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    A couple of hours later, I was called into the AM's office for a "meeting." I was expecting another stern "talking-to, which I could handle (being ex-military, I'd long grown accustomed to being chewed out by people who didn't know how to do the job I was doing). What I was NOT accustomed to was getting a write-up for trying to do my job, especially since the official reason was 11
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    "insubordination." The AM didn't even have the courage to do it himself; he foisted it off on my immediate supervisor, who wasn't involved in the prior situation & had no idea what had happened earlier (I think he was busy putting out a different fire). When he asked what happened that justified my first- and ONLY - write-up in the 2 1/2
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    years I'd worked for the company. When I explained it to my supervisor, all he could do was shake his head in disbelief. He was a good supervisor, at least when it came to getting the best out of most people, but he also wasn't really known for rocking the boat to stick up for his people.
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    That said, when he tried to get me to sign it, I refused because I obviously disagreed. He said he understood, but he'd have to talk to AM about it. That did NOT go well. I could hear the yelling half a building away, despite the machinery running. Once again, I was called to AM's office, but this time I was facing the AM. He immediately started
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    yelling at me again, but not just about the earlier incident. Now he wanted to know why I hadn't built the days' allotment of machines. I coolly reminded him that, not only was there an engineering problem with the machines I was supposed to build, HE told me NOT to work on any other machines & to do so was "insubordination," as he so callously
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    put in the write-up. Then he asked me if I was going to sign the write-up. Once again, I refused. "I don't think it's right, or fair, to be reprimanded for doing my job."
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    "If you don't like it," he said through clenched teeth, "find another job. I can find a thousand people who can do that job." "I never said otherwise, ." I was fed up now & refused to tamp down my anger any longer. "But you'll need at least 3 people to do everything I can do as easily & as well as I can. Good luck with that."
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    I left him standing there, completely flustered, went to my work area to gather my personal effects, walked over to my supervisor. I informed him that I was going home & would like to use my accrued PTO & vacation time for the next 2 weeks. He told me it was no problem &
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    as he was approving my request, I let him know that I was also giving my 2-week notice & wouldn't be back. He shook my hand & wished me well in my future endeavors. I did the same & left.
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    I got to leave on my terms & through my son, who also worked there, as well as various friends I'd made while working there, I did learn that the company had to hire no less than FIVE people to replace me & my expertise. I also got the last laugh, because I'm pretty sure AM got fired a couple of years later for various reasons, not least of which was the lagging productivity & his driving a mass exodus of the best personnel in the assembly area.
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    Effective-Several . 8 hr. ago Good for you. Hope you found a better job. Vote Reply Share HunterRDF OP. 6 hr. ago Unfortunately, I didn't, although it was better paying. My knee, however, prevented my sticking
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    around too long. I'm presently in the long, slow process of getting SSDI, which is taking FOREVER. Vote Reply Share
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micromanager fired job malicious compliance medical machinery workplace environment machinist write up company malicious compliance reddit workplace stories senior employee employment
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