COO replaces a professional employee with a less qualified friend of his, then cuts his salary, and finally fires him for trying to warn leadership about the mistake and speaking up

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Aug 16, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

Corporate loyalty is a one-way mirror where you can see them, but they cannot see you. 

You show up every day, you deliver wins, you collect accolades like Pokémon cards, and then someone's friend shows up to take your job because they went to college with the COO. This happens everywhere. Tech, finance, healthcare it does not matter. The person who knows what they are doing gets replaced by the person who knows the right people.

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  • Man in a suit sits on stone steps with his hand on his head beside bold quote text: "They let me go. Acted all apologetic and sad about it I'm sincerely better off"
    via Vitaly Gariev

     fired employee sitting on stone steps

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

  • I've been a professional in my field for a long time. Took this job after a layoff (tech s_ks like that) and knew it wasn't my vibe when
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  • I took the job, but I got lazy, stopped looking wideners, and hoped it would be better than
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  • expected. Especially after some big wins and accolades in my first few months.
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  • I've never been so professionally disrespected or minimized in my entire life. An outside resource was brought in to supposedly help me (with something I didn't need help on) and subsequently
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  • Man in a black suit sits on stone steps with both hands pressed to his head, looking stressed.
    via Vitaly Gariev

    suited man sitting with his head in his hands

    Representative only.

  • took it all over because they're friends with the COO. This person has far less experience than I do and consistently demonstrates that they don't know what they're talking about.
    via bigtitgothboyfriend
  • And after speaking with another very well-connected friend in our industry, I learned that this resource has been like this for
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  • years and everyone that knows about them knows they don't know what they're talking about. A little validating, but I'm watching people I've tried to be
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  • good to make a huge mistake trusting this inexperienced ignoramus and ignoring me when I can see how badly this is likely to turn out for them.
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  • I bring this up to other leadership and suddenly they're cutting my salary and hours-despite nothing but constant praise for the work I've done.
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  • They sent me an invite this morning for an early afternoon meeting. I'm over this place but
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  • hate having to job hunt. The main thing I'll be mad about at this point is if they do fire me and made me waste most of my
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  • Friday when I could've been off enjoying myself instead of waiting to be fired.
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  • UPDATE: They let me go. Acted all apologetic and sad about it. They'll sleep fine tonight. I'm sincerely better off.
    via bigtitgothboyfriend
  • KASSTaylor They're friends with the COO, this isn't a shocker at all
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  • maydayvoter 11 This is yet another example of how businesses reward conformance, not performance.
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  • Play ball with the COO's incompetent buddies, even if they burn the shop down. = Winning.
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  • Pointing out that the COO screwed up by hiring his incompetent buddies, and you were doing the job better than the buddies are = "Not a team player, poor cultural fit, insubordinate."
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  • mercurygreen Remember: When they call with a "quick question," the answer is "I cannot discuss past employers' trade secrets"
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  • Cultural-Answer-321 LOL, NEVER tell the board of directors they are making a mistake. Or the JVPs. Or the directors. Super rookie mistake.
    via bigtitgothboyfriend
  • If you see the train wreck coming, use that info to CYA and then jump ship. If you can't jump ship, at the very least, CYA. Either way, you're going to have look for new job.
    via bigtitgothboyfriend

  • Bringing in an outside resource to help with something you do not need help on is corporate speak for we found someone we like better. That person will have less experience, weaker skills, and stronger connections. They will consistently demonstrate they do not know what they are talking about while you watch in horror as leadership nods along like they are hearing wisdom from the oracle at Delphi.

    Salary cuts after constant praise is the corporate equivalent of breaking up with someone by saying it is not you, it is me. They need you right up until they do not. Then suddenly the budget is tight, the hours are reduced, and you become expensive overnight. The meeting invite with no agenda is the final boss battle. Early afternoon timing means they want you to sit in dread for hours before the execution.

    Getting fired for standing up and trying to prevent a mistake is the ultimate corporate irony. You become the problem the moment you point out the problem. Leadership would rather burn the building down than admit they hired the wrong person. They will act apologetic and sad while signing your termination papers. They will sleep fine tonight because they convinced themselves you were the issue.

    The real loss is wasting your Friday waiting to be fired instead of enjoying your life. You could have been at the beach. You could have been doing literally anything else. Instead you spent the day in limbo while they worked up the courage to press delete. Job hunting is close to the worst thing you can do but nothing beats the freedom of realizing you were better off without them all along.


     

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management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr coworkers colleague Horrible Bosses
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