'Got fired and was told that I’m easily replaceable. So I fixed that': Fired worker takes $60k client from old job

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 29, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

When a job wants to fire an employee, they'll come up with just about any excuse to let them go. Thanks to the current state of labor laws, they don't even need a very good excuse to send an employee packing! They can put them on PIP for a few weeks before firing them. They could make up an excuse, like saying they missed a critical deadline or were impolite to a client. Or, like this person's workplace, they could be even more ridiculous than that. 

One thing you never want to be told in a job is that you're replaceable. We all know it — of course you can be replaced by someone. After all, someone had your job before you. But to be reminded of this is rather unpleasant, and it's kind of like a veiled threat. 

Next up, read about the job interviews that were full of red flags, like one person who couldn't believe that "The manager… showed me YouTube videos for like 30 minutes." 

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  • 01
    Man in black suit looking at woman in black suit with laptop in front of them
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 02

    "Got fired and was told that I’m easily replaceable. So I fixed that."

    At my old company a guy was fired for harassment. The week after that, I was fired for harassment. Someone put in a retaliatory complaint against me thinking I was the one that got the guy from the week before fired. I didn't. HR was very vague when they fired me and showed no proof. Said they would just replace the two of us and move on.
    via u/BeaconIcon
  • 03
    I handled our largest client. Did all their projects. After I got fired, client called me with some usual questions and I told them I was fired and didn't work there anymore. Heard through the grapevine my old company struggled to keep up on the work load, even though they hired one person.
    via u/BeaconIcon
  • 04
    Two weeks later I get a call from the client. They want to hire me in-house and stop subcontracting old company. I never sent them an application or interviewed with them, they just asked me to come in to discuss an offer.
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  • 05
    This client was my old company's highest paying client. About $60k in billables a month. And since client hired me, they lost that contract.
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  • 06
    Gladly took the offer and now old company doesn't have to worry about replacing me.
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  • 07

    This seems like a lawsuit just waiting to happen

    MarkxPrice I'm usually not one for being petty, but I REALLY hope you find a way to shove that in your old company's face.
    via u/MarkxPrice

    Even if this person doesn't sue the pants off of them, the next worker who gets treated unjustly might get litigious! 

  • 08
    BrickyWaitForlt Awesome that you're tying to help out your last boss by taking the business somewhere else, really considering We love it!
    via u/BrickyWaitForlt
  • 09
    stickynotesandb... This has to have been the laziest investigation of harassment I've ever read. Like HR would know who lodged the complaint against the first guy, so the second complaint against you being a retaliatory complaint should have gone no further. However it doesn't seem that common sense is common here.
    via u/stickynotesandbl***
  • 10
    Thankfully your client knew your worth and took you on to cut out the middle man. I hope they show you their appreciation and you have a fulfilling career with them.
    via u/stickynotesandbl***
  • 11
    Woman in black suit jacket looking over the shoulder of man in blue button down shirt showing her a clipboard in an office setting
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 12
    mezz7778 Wow....this sounds similar to the last job I took... Got hired on to replace someone who quit, then a week and a half later got laid off as the work I was hired for just wasn't there anymore, they figured he either called the clients to tell them where he was going or went to work in house somewhere..
    via u/mezz7778
  • 13
    But I understand why he quit, person I worked directly under was awful, and even people in other departments warned me about how I'd be treated.
    via u/mezz7778

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getting fired boss firing story workplace-stories firing jobs fired job fired story bosses work laid off workplace got fired
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