Brave employee quits on the spot after discovering company fired 40% of its workforce: 'No thanks, I'm out!'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 6, 2026 7:00 PM EST

This employee is proving that when you spot a workplace injustice, you can put your money where your mouth is and walk out the door to prove a point. 

When your coworkers get fired in front of your very eyes, it's destabilizing for every single other employee. You feel sympathy for your colleagues who have been sent packing, who suddenly have no income and no guarantees of finding a job again any time soon. 

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    Employee considers quitting after colleagues discover they're being let go.
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Employee considers quitting after colleagues discover they're being let go.

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

  • There are empty desks and emails from higher-ups with words of encouragement. But everyone knows things won't be the same as before, and everyone is about to be stretched thin thanks to the lack of workers. 

    You're glad you kept your job, but it's a Ship of Theseus situation. Is this even the same job if you're missing 40% of the entire workforce (and, as this person elaborates, 70% of her immediate team members were let go. That is… a choice! It will no longer be business as usual if you're down 7/10 employees!).

    You feel majorly guilty for staying behind. You stare blankly at your inbox and wonder, “Why did they choose him instead of me?” You wonder when your time will come. You might feel helpless to do anything other than apply to new jobs. But, as this brave employee proved, there is something you can do that'll be as destabilizing to your employers as they were to you: just quit on the spot! 

    Now that is a bold move, and it's not something that just everyone can do. If you have kids, or you care for your parents or something, you probably can't afford to peace out of your current workplace. This person is extraordinarily brave for leaving, as you can read about in the story shared below. There were reasons for that worker to stay — namely, a huge raise!

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    Here's what happened...

    My employer Block laid off 40% of its workforce last Thursday (2/26). I wasn't affected... but I was *affected*. I decided to quit immediately and left the company the following day on 2/27. I figured that a company able to Thanos-snap away half of their employees doesn't need two-week's notice from me, just another IC that could easily have been in that 40%.
    via TheJobfather__
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    This is my personal story and reflection about the time we are in, working in tech. Some of the company's choices have felt deeply problematic, and, quite frankly, I'm mad. I'm willing to bet that many of those who were laid off or are still working at Block are mad too. Anger is a feeling of perceived injustice, a valid reaction to these events.
    via TheJobfather__
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    Since layoffs disproportionately affect certain teams, I found out in a span of 10 minutes that ~70% of my immediate + sister teams were going to disappear. On my immediate team, the only people left were me and a new hire who had started 3 days ago. I felt immense dread and survivor's guilt.
    via TheJobfather__
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    So Block laid off 40% of its employees and offered the rest of us Retention Packages. I'm not sure how the Retention Package looked for others, but I was personally offered a pay increase of -75% (90% if you include the one-time bonus!). So basically, I saw my company discard half of my peers and double my pay. That's not an honor. It feels shameful and
    via TheJobfather__
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    dehumanizing. I'd rather see my peers keep their jobs than personally profit from their trauma. I have the immense financial privilege of being a steadily- employed, healthy person with no dependents, but many of my peers have families to care for, medical bills to pay, or visa issues putting them at risk of deportation.
    via TheJobfather__
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    - After the layoff announcement, I asked several people if I could be included in the layoff. Of course, everyone answered "no". Because really, why should you get to choose to leave with dignity when you see your entire team the people you worked hard to build a positive relationship with over the past year and a half-disappear? But here, take the fat paycheck that's well above market rate, because we actually value *you*!
    via TheJobfather__
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    So why did this happen? Block claims it's because Al is making the company so productive. In the last year, Al was shoved down everyone's throats. Everything was about Al. We were told to use Al as much as possible. It's nothing short of dystopian to be forced to employ the very tools that accelerate the disappearance of the jobs on which our
    via TheJobfather__
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    livelihoods depend. Personally, I saw very limited gains in productivity from Al, nothing nearly profound enough to justify tossing out half of the company's workforce along with their institutional knowledge and expertise (bus factor, anyone?).
    via TheJobfather__
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    So 40% of employees had no choice but to take the severance and leave. The remaining 60% of us were offered fat paychecks to stick around and clean up the mess our "leadership" created, all so we can continue contributing to a future where Al leaves us all unemployed. No thanks, I'm out!
    via TheJobfather__
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    She's clearly got a good head on her shoulders!

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    via TheCartelDel

    She's living the ideal life: having enough savings so that you can have complete control over your own life. If someone disrespects you, tell 'em bye! You never have to sit there and take it if you have "forget you" money. 

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    Great point!

    Cheezburger Image 10612518144
    via Double_Oh_Panda

    She agreed to a raise, but… she's going to be working, like, 24/7 to cover all of those other employees' duties. Not ideal! 

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    Cheezburger Image 10612517376
    via aloysiajones
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    Cheezburger Image 10612517888
    via IGawtTheDoorTor
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    Employee deciding to leave her job as the employees around her get laid off.
    via Getty Images

    Employee deciding to leave her job as the employees around her are laid off. 

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