A former senior software engineer has shared a story on Reddit detailing how a tech company’s decision to lay him off ended up backfiring on management, leaving a cautionary tale for organizations about undervaluing critical employees. The user, who worked at a tech company with software similar to Dropbox, explained that he had maintained and built core data synchronization machinery single-handedly for six years.
Dispute Over Pay Leads to Flexible Work
According to the Reddit post, the engineer knew he was earning roughly 10% less than other senior engineers and requested a salary adjustment. Management refused. “So I compensated accordingly and started working less and working my own hours with little regard to ‘core hours,’” he wrote.
A new director was later hired and immediately fired his manager. The engineer began reporting directly to the director, who confronted him about rumors of not adhering to core hours. The engineer admitted the rumors were true and outlined his reasons. A month later, the director laid him off, citing “job abandonment” in the HR system. The engineer was entitled to severance due to being laid off without cause.
Justice Served, In a Way
The story took an ironic turn when the former engineer later learned from a current employee that “the director AND the VP who hired the director were both recently fired with one major reason being that 6 people are now doing my job + they still have to pay me severance so it’s like 7 people.” He added that the software has become more buggy and the company has lost customers, eroding investor confidence.
“All of this could have been easily avoided by giving me that measly 10% raise… Anyhow, I hope that this shows that there is still some justice left in this world. I sure got a laugh out of it!” the engineer concluded on Reddit.