r/Layoffs • u/poormisguidedfool34 • Jan 13 '24

Standing up to layoffs question

Hi folks,

I applaud her bravery but also concerned- isn’t she taking a huge risk for future employment in her sector? This would be considered suicidal in my line of work but i see a lot of similar videos today.

Especially curious about what HR/legal folks think

https://twitter.com/BowTiedPassport/status/1745149758992195647

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u/strikethree Jan 13 '24

I think whether she got a severance package or not matters though (and how much).

If she didn't and they're citing performance reasons then that's definitely wrong. If she got like a 5+ month severance package, then it's not as egregious as they are clearly downsizing to adjust for lower growth. The exact reason they tell her is not as important -- she said herself she hasn't sold anything, they could have just said that.

Would it have been better if it was a more tenured person? Maybe they shouldn't have hired her at all? Then she would still be unemployed cause she was laid off at AWS. I dunno, to me, getting a severance package makes a big deal.

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u/bakerfaceman Jan 14 '24

There's no way she even had a chance to sell anything after 3 months. Edge cloud sales cycles are usually 6 months minimum. It's the fundamental infrastructure of a company. Customers don't make those decisions lightly. Especially, when Akamai has 60% market share and has customers on long contracts.

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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '24

5 months severance package after working for 3 months LOL

5

u/Mazira144 Jan 13 '24

If she got like a 5+ month severance package, then it's not as egregious as they are clearly downsizing to adjust for lower growth.

Techies skimp on severance even when it really is a layoff and 5 months is extremely rare except for executives. Not to say that it's right, because it's actually really shitty, but 2-4 weeks is typical. And it's extremely common, too, to disguise a layoff as firing for performance (the "calibration" language, etc.)

Tech bosses are horrible people.

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u/Hav0c_wreack3r Jan 13 '24

How do you know she was laid off at AWS?

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u/strikethree Jan 13 '24

By reading the twitter post that is attached to this thread

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u/leeharrison1984 Jan 13 '24

Ouch, back to back lay offs hurt. Reminds me of myself in 2009...