Indispensable employee uses a company blunder to negotiate a 30% raise after they fire an entire support department: 'I'm using this to twist their arm'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Oct 16, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

When this employee's company fired an entire department, suddenly, his role became indispensable. What's a struggling ladder-climber to do if not use a business's folly to their own gain? 

I've been told that it's in every employee's best interest to diversify their skillset in their career, making themselves into a well-known figure at the company, while remaining balanced. To keep from painting yourself into a corner and becoming TOO valuable in a position (and therefore unpromotable), your diverse skills can be cross-pollinated across all departments, both laterally and upwards. In the corporate world, this kind of jargon is just everyday talk, but when the worker in this next story heard this piece of advice, he took it to heart. After fine-tuning his role with his company, he found that there were only a handful of other employees who could cover his position when he was taking PTO—and they were all from the customer support department. 

However, when the CEO found out that customers were most unhappy with their support department, as customers typically are, he decided to boost their company's rating numbers by laying off the entire support squad. Now, with nobody to back him up, this employee decided that his solo status meant he could capitalize financially, using this company blunder to negotiate a 30%+ raise. 

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  • Woman negotiating her contracts
    via pressmaster

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My company just made a huge mistake, and I'm exploiting it to get a decent raise.
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • My company just let go of the entire support team from the branch in the next town over, under the pretext of 'too many customer issues.'
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • This team was the only people that covered my shifts when I was unavailable. Now, literally, there's no one to cover for me in the short term, so I'm using this to twist their arm. Either a raise
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • or I walk. Hope for the best. Update: It seems to be going well. I had a one-on-one with my manager and explained my position. He pretty much
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • admitted that he knows I'm overqualified and was on the phone with the district supervisor to get me a 25 to 30% raise. Of course, talk is cheap and I'm not celebrating until I see it in my paycheck, but it feels like a win.
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • I'm still annoyed that they waited until I backed them into a corner to fix something they already knew was unfair. But oh well, that's the corporate world for you. I
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • can't believe the number of people who were convinced this was a terrible idea. For anyone who thinks this is impossible, I have one piece of advice: specialise.
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • Woman negotiating contracts with two businessmen
    via Pressmaster

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Develop yourself in a sought- after and very specialised skill. Use this skill to make yourself essential in any small operation. Stay away from the giant, faceless
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • corporations where you're just a number. Look, no one is truly irreplaceable, but you can make it very difficult and expensive for them to find someone with your exact skillset on short notice.
    via slack-95-bronchi
  • Tough Cantalou... You saw the company's weak spot and used it to your advantage, which is exactly what they would've done if the roles were reversed. It's ridiculous that they only take action when someone forces their hand, but that's how most companies operate.
    via Tough Cantalou
  • You're also completely right about specializing. When you've got a rare skill or handle something no one else can easily replace, suddenly you have leverage, and that's when you get paid what you're worth.
    via Tough Cantalou
  • Good on you for standing your ground. Hope that raise actually lands in your paycheck soon.
    via Tough Cantalou
  • loudshirtgames ⚫ That 30% is going to feel good for awhile but they'll expect everything right now all the time from you now. It's not fun.
    via loudshirtgames
  • Sevennix ⚫ Just because they know the problems, doesn't mean they'll fix them.. till someone down the ladder recognizes and brings it up. Good luck!
    via Sevennix

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