A Reddit user’s post about being jobless has sparked outrage among social media users. The employee claimed that the CEO of a four-year-old tech startup in India suddenly called the workers for a video call during what seemed like a typical workday to inform them that the company had run out of money and would shut down.
“Our startup shut down overnight—19 of us lost our jobs,” the employee wrote, adding, “It was supposed to be just another normal workday at our (now former) startup. But around midday, we all got an unexpected email from the CEO calling for an urgent all-hands meeting. In that meeting, he told us something none of us saw coming: the company had completely run out of money. We wouldn’t be getting paid this month, and effective immediately, the company was shutting down. All of our investors had pulled out. He told us not to report to work the next day.”
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The employee wrote that though the CEO said he would try to help the laid-off individuals get new roles, his promise was insignificant.
{{/usCountry}}The employee wrote that though the CEO said he would try to help the laid-off individuals get new roles, his promise was insignificant.
{{/usCountry}}“How did you handle the shock? How did you bounce back?” the employee asked.
Take a look at the entire post:
How did social media react?
An individual shared, “I was in the same situation in November; I remember waking up in the morning and thinking that today I'll complete this task, and I won't have any Jira tickets left for this sprint and will enjoy it now. But suddenly, in the standup, my CEO informed us that investors had asked us to shut down all operations in a month, so we had only one month to find new jobs. I was shattered as it was my very first job. It took me 2 days to even process this, and then I started working towards getting a job; it took some time, but I got a job. So I think, don't lose hope, you'll definitely get something. Just give it some time and trust the process.”
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Another added, “Did you get a leaving or experience letter?” The OP replied, “We are expecting to get the documentation soon. It happened on Monday.”
A third remarked, “I was exactly in this situation last month. I know how overwhelming it feels right now. Take some time to process it. Reach out to HR; they probably know people with openings for your experience, although the chances might be small. Update your profiles. Have some open-source projects you can showcase. Keep applying.”
A fourth wrote, “I know people are being considerate here in the comments and wishing you luck, but I still can't get over the fact that the startup closed in a day. How the f can you be running out of money and have absolutely no clue about it. If I were you, I would beat the f outta that supposed CEO. A startup knows exactly how much runway it has, and your CEO does know it. He just didn't tell you. File a case against him or beat him up. I prefer the latter.” OP responded, “Everyone had the same grievance that we should have been told at least at the start of this month. It happened over a video call (CEO lives in another city), employees work in-office.”