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'Layoff email was bad, LinkedIn was worse': Employee slams VP’s 'sad' post, says it's just for collecting likes
An ex-employee calls out "disgusting" leadership for collecting likes on LinkedIn layoff posts while staying quiet to those actually fired.
A social media post is making its rounds after an employee claimed having a "disgusting" experience following a layoff. While the initial email was a shock, the real blow came from seeing leadership post "sad" updates with heart emojis on LinkedIn just minutes later. The employee argued that these public displays of grief by executives are often a hollow branding exercise that ignores the immediate, life-altering stress faced by those actually losing their jobs.
“The layoff email was bad. LinkedIn was worse,” an employee wrote on Blind, a platform where professionals anonymously converse about their work-life challenges.
Also Read: Gurgaon techie laid off 5 months after joining, manager unaware: 'HR called me for a meeting'
“I got the layoff email. Sat there for a bit. Didn’t tell anyone. For some reason, I opened LinkedIn. That was my mistake,” the individual posted.
They explained that they came across a LinkedIn post by a VP at the company that fired them. “A VP had already posted. Sad tone. ‘Had to say goodbye to amazing people.’ Heart emoji. Comments full of other execs saying how hard this must be for them.”
He continued, “Meanwhile, I’m sitting there thinking about my visa and how long my insurance lasts. What f**ked me up wasn’t the layoff. Basically, layoffs happen, leadership goes quiet internally, then they show up on LinkedIn to look human, they collect likes and condolences.
He added, “I can't believe this is what leadership looks like these day… it's disgusting... Don't open LinkedIn if you've been laid off, it will just make you more pissed.”
How did social media react?
An individual wrote, “When I was laid off from Meta a few years ago, I drafted my LinkedIn badge post the night before just in case, and posted it as soon as the 4am email came out. Was one of the first, so ended up trending in LI’s News roundup or whatever. Every contact of mine saw it, and I got a LOT of “if you need any referrals…” messages. Highly recommend being prepared for these situations so you can manipulate LinkedIn’s bullshit to benefit yourself while you’re still clear-headed. Get in before the self-pitying survivors.”
Also Read: US techie says CTO fired him twice in one month, CEO intervened: ‘I was threatened’
Another added, “Those managers don’t care about you. They want to announce to their network that they aren’t the ones being let go cause they’re the better ones. It’s a cunning and clever way to announce that they have survived. Plenty of people do that, not just managers. They don’t think you’re amazing or care enough to tell you goodbye. They would sacrifice 10 of you if it meant they would get a decent rating in one of the pav cycle.”
A third commented, “I totally feel you. One of the things I hated when I got laid off was seeing colleagues post on LinkedIn about how they were ‘luckily’ not affected and saying they were there to help. Help with what, exactly? Most people can’t even offer referrals, interview on my behalf, or pay my bills.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
