‘My primary motivation was revenge’: Top-performing employee is let go from their job, so they land the same role at their former company's top competitor and score a 30% raise

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Apr 5, 2025 4:00 AM EDT

Petty revenge has a special place in all of our hearts, especially if it's petty revenge in the workplace. More often than not, these bosses and C-suite executives feed on low and mid-level employees like sharks when they see scuba flippers atop the surface of the ocean. They think we're seals, but we're actually humans who know a lot more than they think we do. We're just looking for the right time to strike.

Being let go is never easy, but a top-performing employee might not reconcile with the fact that their best efforts were for, essentially, nothing. These companies don't care about us and refuse to give us any kind of loyalty. So, we mimic their behavior and do the same thing. That's what this particular company's former employee decided to do, and they scored a 30% raise in the process. A scorned employee is like a wildfire—Once they catch a gust of wind, their animosity spreads rapidly, destroying everything in their wake. In this story's case, that's all of the company's top customers—80M worth.

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  • The employee who was let go didn't harbor animosity, but rather, didn't understand why they were terminated. It makes no sense. They did their job exceptionally well. That just goes to show you never know who your higher-ups really are, and they're just waiting for the chance to cut corners so more money lands in their pocket instead of yours. I don't blame them, but they have to be able to take what they put out into the world. The karmic cycle is ruthless, friends!

  • "We've managed to take about $80M in annual sales away from my former employer. I'm not done yet either."
    via Tahir osman For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "After getting l*id off, I took my next role just to get revenge."

    I worked as a product manager for an automotive supplier. Things were great for about 8 years until we got new manager when my employer got bought by another company. Despite being
    via No_Chill_835
  • the top performer on my team, they decided to lay me off. I was NOT happy about it, but that's the nature of at-will employment. The severance package was just OK, but I had to sign a 12 month non-compete to get it...whatever.
    via No_Chill_835
  • I spent that year figuring what I wanted to do going forward. I also stayed in touch with a lot of the people at the OEMs who had been responsible for buying the parts I was supplying. We didn't
    via No_Chill_835
  • really talk about business, but we stayed in touch because after all those years working together, we'd become friends too. So we still played golf, went to hockey and baseball games, and just went out to lunch now and then.
    via No_Chill_835
  • Cheezburger Image 10490007552
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I was still deciding whether I even wanted to go back to that kind of work or just do something else altogether when a recruiter reached out to me and asked if
    via No_Chill_835
  • I'd be interested in the same kind of role at a direct competitor to my former employer. I was kind of ambivalent, but figured I'd at least talk to them. Turned out
    via No_Chill_835
  • that the role they had was not just for a similar role. They were looking for someone to manage the same kind of parts and go after the same customers I'd had in my previous job.
    via No_Chill_835
  • In the end, they made me a great offer which equated to about a 30% raise over my prior salary. I didn't take the job because of that, it helped, but my primary motivation was revenge.
    via No_Chill_835
  • So far, in the past couple of years, we've managed to take about $80M in annual sales away from my former employer. I'm not done yet either.
    via No_Chill_835
  • Icy_Principle6909 LOL... Good for you! I always say.... companies don't really appreciate you until the day after you leave. Keep at it.
    via Icy_Principle6909
  • Sweetlexie20 Yeah they f around and they fixing to find out real quick.
    via Sweetlexie20
  • SweetieSoulxo Absolute power move. You turned a layoff into a $80M revenge arc main character energy fr. Keep going
    via SweetieSoulxo
  • CaptainHowdy60 Sometimes things happen for a reason. Congrats on the pay raise and revenge.
    via CaptainHowdy60
  • Ionic3127 The automotive parts industry is a dog eat dog world. Good for you lol, relationships are extremely fickle in that line of work
    via Ionic3127
  • ravingtoast Do what my old boss did, poached 70% of the staff from company that laid him off.
    via ravingtoast
  • realgoodmind Love when we get one on the big brother holding us all down
    via realgoodmind

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