'1 month later I'm getting phone calls asking for help': Worker gets laid off by employer who panics after things go sideways

It turns out they were essential to the business after all…

Traditionally, layoffs were considered to be a point of shame in business, only used as a last resort as it was a sure sign that your business was failing—usually as a direct result of failures in leadership's decision-making and mismanagement. Really, this—along with the hit that was sure to follow the stock pricing of publically traded companies—was all that kept companies from considering using layoffs as a cost-saving measure.

Nowadays, layoffs are used liberally as a cost-saving initiative and a way to "trim the fat" of a workforce that is already delivering record profits. Surely, some executive has a bonus structure depending on cost-saving initiatives, and last-minute layoffs penned in the twilight hours of the financial year are their unimaginative way of meeting their targets.

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Author image for Brad Dickson Brad Dickson
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  • Anyways, being laid off comes with a pretty strong connotation of “You're no longer required here.” So, getting calls and emails months after you were initially let go asking you for assistance resolving an issue that no one remaining at the company can resolve kind of leads one to believe that you shouldn't have been laid off in the first place.

    This post is only the latest in a long series of workers sharing similar stories. See their story below, followed by the community's response.

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  • 01
    r/antiwork. Posted by u/Killwind Got hit with a layoff now 1 month later I'm getting phone calls asking for help! I was a senior manager for one of the telecom giants. I was responsible for creating the environments that are used in presentations and in the marketing campaigns. For example if you were to see the ad on TV or on a website my team and I built it. This includes business websites and social media sites, phone numbers, emails anything the platform could touch that could show our capab
    Via u/Killwind
  • 02
    and Google cloud, domains, and telecom & network infrastructure etc. So the company I'm with starts having multiple rounds of layoff (I survived the first 2 rounds) at the beginning of the year. I start the job search around March. By July I have the ever dreaded emergency HR meeting on Zoom. My boss is freaked out the HR person can't make eye contact with me when they tell me I can't be saved and that they are going to package me out. (I had been there 3 1/2 years) just missing my stock vesting
    Via u/Killwind
  • 03
    another department I start by paying my (Russian & Ukrainian) dev team for the completed work (3 months early) and let them know we are closing out I have them put together a run book with everything to manage and maintain the environments including monthly cost & payments. The company does not restrict my access. I was given until the end of Q3 to be around and help. The day before my last day the company has an emergency meeting to resolve who is going to take over my group. During the meeting
    Via u/Killwind
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  • 04
    months off before I start at the new job. Surprise they forget to make payment and everything and I mean everything gets shutdown. I get a panicked phone call from my ex-boss asking if I can log into a meeting and help them out. All I can do is laugh and tell them they need to pay me at my consultant rate (5 times what they were paying me when I worked for them) but I couldn't get to it right away since I was up in the mountains enjoying my time off and didn't bring my laptop. Then they ask me i
    Via u/Killwind
  • 05
    I start getting calls from the C-suite guys. One of the websites that my group managed was one of the main production websites for the business. It's gone what can I do to help them out. The 800# assigned to it is also gone and giving a fast busy (the company killed their own number for failure to pay) I tell them we need to start contract discussions right away so we can get this fixed right away but I'm not available for the next couple of weeks as I'm on vacation. They are out of service for
    Via u/Killwind
  • 06
    SallyBeatle 3 hr. ago Congrats you're now an independent contractor who will contract with them at an hourly rate of your choosing. Retainer required. 202 Reply Share kpsi355 11 min. ago . Also u/KillWind demand the stocks you missed vesting as the cost to even discuss working for them. Like a business pays for the flight and
    Via u/Killwind
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  • 07
    accommodations for candidates to interview for CEO, the cost to bring you to the negotiating table is X# of shares of T stock (for example), which is how much would have vested had you not been fired. You keep the shares whether or not you end up signing a contract as a consultant. Reply Share Vote WumpusFails. just now Minimum hours per issue. Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
  • 08
    harcosparky 3 hr. ago I got laid off by a large engineering firm. Three months later, 2 months after I started a new position, they called me back. I balked at the offer, telling them I just started a new position. They offered me a 6 month contract, paying me 2 years salary at the rate when I left. So 24 months pay, for 6 months work. I jumped on it, at the end of the 6 months they offered me a more secure permanent position at almost double my last rate as an employee. Vote . Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
  • 09
    ReedRidge 3 hr. ago Sounds as if you have already spent more time on them than they deserved for free. Unless they pay you now, the proper response to anyone calling from a c-suite is off" especially as none of them do as much as a mail room clerk. 11 Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
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  • 10
    ozzy_thedog 3 hr. ago Ya now you're charging them for consulting. Send them an invoice 22 Reply Share Jerking_From_Home 2 hr. ago And OP don't forget to bill them for the phone calls you've already had with them! Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
  • 11
    LowerEmotion6062 1 hr. ago Don't forget to negotiate the stock value you lost at layoff. Vote Reply Share kpsi355 9 min. ago As a separate payment just for you picking up the phone. ✩ Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
  • 12
    originalread 32 min. ago I probably would have responded with the demand that those unvested stock options are suddenly vested if they wanted you to lift one finger. Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
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  • 13
    harcosparky 3 hr. ago Tell them you would be happy to consult for them, at a rate of 5X your last rate with them. If they do not go for it...... screw them. ✩ Vote Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind
  • 14
    Maelkothian 1 hr. ago . Tell them to best your stock options Reply Share Vote eggroller85 16 min. ago You're assuming the stock has value long term. Vote Reply Share Vote AA Maelkothian 4 min. ago I'm assuming the stock is currently worth more than what the option said he had to pay for it on vesting the option yeah Reply Share
    Via u/Killwind

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workplace discussion getting fired employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs fired employment-discussion job work laid off layoffs workplace Horrible Bosses lay off employment in the workplace
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