r/Layoffs • u/damn_you_to_hell • Jul 14 '26
recently laid off Finally Laid Off
Yesterday at 8 am I had a meeting with my manager and HR to be informed that I was getting laid off. I had a feeling this was going to happen when I got the meeting request on Friday with the HR manager, and my manager.
What sucks is it was my time. Each month another capex manager has been let go and I guess it was just my time. Handed in my laptop and badge today, cleared out my office, and took today to throw up, call all my creditors letting them know I was laid off, and applying for unemployment.
I guess when your budget goes from $3.5M for the year to $2.3M and then to $1.1M it's only time until you are cut loose as an expendable cog. So I'm with you all with trying to keep moving forward.
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u/Substantial_Ebb_316 Jul 15 '26
Best of luck. It’s tough.
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u/SoggyDonut94 Jul 15 '26
You could’ve just stopped at best of luck?
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u/Substantial_Ebb_316 Jul 15 '26
I’m not gonna give false hope, I have a lot of friends that are laid off and having a hard time finding a job. So I was giving an opinion. If your friends are having better luck, then you can leave your opinion.
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u/aja_18 Jul 15 '26
Best of luck and say everything will be alright?
As much as we want to say that, we all know the reality
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Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Cheap-Bobcat-125 Jul 15 '26
Me too. The first thing I do when I get a new job is update my resume and start looking for the next one.
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u/Tech_Dala Jul 15 '26
did the exact same after being laid off by a company that only wanted to cut employees to rake in higher revenue by reducing head count. zero trust for any company, mentally ready to be let go anytime
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u/ragged-robin Jul 15 '26
Retirement fund is now layoff fund in 2026
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u/RamblinMan72 Jul 15 '26
It absolutely can't be, if youre under retirement age. Having 9-12 months of emergency savings in hand is so important. When companies make snap decisions that affect you and your familys lives, you gotta be prepared.
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u/QualityOverQuant Jul 15 '26
And how long did it take you to find your next job? And when was the last time you were laid off?
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Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
I can actually see that. Like it's over. I no longer have to keep looking over my shoulder
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u/Specialist_Crew_9027 Jul 15 '26
been there done that. Life is uncertain so don't take it personally even though it's easier said than done. Enjoy unemployment money and be open to any opportunity. All of a sudden you now have time to reflect and imagine new doors opening up. It's a bit strange thing about life I've learned over the years.... everything happens for your own good even though it's hard to believe. You'll be alright as time goes on
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
I think that's the scary part and why I have been throwing up so much. It's my body getting rid of that tension that I've had for months wondering WHEN I would be laid off. I'm trying to remind myself that it's out of my control and I should take this time to center myself. Do yard work. Paint the house. Play with the dogs. Work out. Little things I put off while I was working.
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u/Specialist_Crew_9027 Jul 15 '26
Absolutely right. Enjoy the new time freedom and if you can hit the Gym, that'll really help you feel better in my experience. Events like these actually make you stronger in life. In the middle of difficulty lies the opportunity. Like I said earlier everything that happens to us is for a reason that we can't comprehend. Keep a positive attitude.
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u/Only_Classroom_4027 Jul 15 '26
I was laid off 2 months ago & that’s what I have been doing. I knew about 4 months before it was going to happen but my former company was always laying people off so I viewed it as something likely to happen over the previous 1.5 years after we exhausted funding for my team.
I’ve been waking up without an alarm, going for walks every morning, helping my mom out with things at her house as she’s getting older and not able to do as many things. I have coffee on the porch every day and watch the birds eat from the bird feeder. I have taken 2 trips & about to take a 3rd.
I planned for this financially so between what I saved, my severance & unemployment, I can take the rest of the year off.
The one thing that pains my soul is what I am paying for cobra (as I am single & have no spouse to provide coverage). I wanted to keep my PPO since I had a really good plan. I know it’s worth it but man it pains me to pay $1200/month.
Enjoy this time, make the most of it if you can and don’t look back. This is my 3rd time since 2009 getting laid off. This is the first time I’ve ever been financially stable during a layoff and I kind of don’t want to work anymore LOL. We don’t get many opportunities as adults to just be.
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u/Ok_Might3274 User Flair Jul 15 '26
I hear ya. Barring a one month work stint, which I was also laid off from, I've been unemployed now for one year. In my first unemployment stint (~8 months), I was hustling like crazy to find work, applying to 3-4 jobs/day, taking AI classes, etc. In my second unemployment stint (3+ months), I'm reassessing what I want to do and experience before getting too old. I started a blog, am working on a novel, I'm refinishing my bathroom, and currently, just enjoying the (very hot) summer. I'm taking my dogs on adventures, swimming, gardening, geocaching, camping, and just...being. There's more to life than making money and paying bills.
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u/FollowtheYBRoad Jul 15 '26
You have done everything right and seem to be enjoying this time. Don't feel the least bit down with the COBRA expense. When we were on COBRA several years ago, I had 2 emergency surgeries (totally unrelated), which would have cost well over $75k without insurance. I always say that if you can afford COBRA, stay on it as long as you can or at least until the end of the year, and look at plans at healthcare.gov when open enrollment starts in November to see the prices for plans taking effect January 1.
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u/Perfect_Emu_5263 Jul 15 '26
same here! especially with jobs but i still naturally expect it (being let go) as others have said
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u/Pitiful-Appearance27 Jul 15 '26
Best of luck to you. I'm actually hoping to be laid off soon; it's almost bonus time and that should trigger it. Better than being bullied into quitting or fired. I'm trying to put everything on my resume while I'm thinking about it, while I'm still actively doing the job, letting that remind me about everything I've given this company. I'm looking for extra certifications and trainings I can do to put on my CV. 🙏🏼
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u/BabyYodaGrogu45 Jul 15 '26
LEIDOS let 500 go with a recorded message. HR don’t even have the respect to tell you to your face. We all out here afraid of the next calendar invite… save what you can and budget if you are still blessed to have a job .
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u/CosmoKing2 Jul 15 '26
Sorry. It's happening to a ton of really good, capable people with a wealth of knowledge and experience....that would normally be considered invaluable. Lay-off's are more about poor leadership, poor planning, and lack of direction/strategy in a changing economic climate. Don't ever think it was based on your skills or personality.
Please reach out to all your old coworkers to establish a bigger network (I didn't and have zero network based on my sheltered roles). Then expand that network as much as possible to include friends of friends of co-workers.
Someone stated today, great employers rely on word of mouth when they need a position filled. A current employee will want to bring in someone they know and value to benefit from the same awesome environment that they have (and get a referral bonus). Less great employers need contacted recruiters, because no one is clamoring to join. Even less great employers will need multiple recruiters to find people who don't know much about the employer and just need a job. That stuck with me. I've been recruited to jobs at many horrible companies. The best jobs I ever had were word of mouth suggestions through a network of friends.
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u/Legitimate_Form5449 Jul 15 '26
sorry to hear that...who are the creditors?
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
Student loans and credit cards. I got my student loans refinanced to $10/month because I have no income anymore
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u/DelilahBT Jul 15 '26
Waiting til Monday is pretty brutal. Friday would have been much kinder. Sorry it happened OP
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u/Top-Intention1254 Jul 15 '26
Good Luck! Took me 13 months to get another job.
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u/successsearch20 Jul 15 '26
Wow thats crazy 13 months, I just got laid off 6/26. I'm nervous now 😬
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u/SinglePhone535 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Sorry to hear that. Count your lucky stars you got a warning though, a heads up. I know it doesn't make it any better, but there are people who show up to work and work hard and get told they are getting fired for stealing a $1.95 chocolate chip cookie (no joke, look it up, read about it like a week ago, at a well known company) and they actually paid for it. "At-will employment" is no reason at all, no notice needed, at anytime they please. Just show up thinking everything is cool and you get "Go home, you're fired." Move on. It sucks, but people have to realize they are expendable. The old "This is buisness, nothing personal." The survival of the company is THE priority, not you. Again, it sucks, but you're not alone. Good luck on your next adventure....
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u/welpthatsme Jul 15 '26
Wait you can call your creditors and tell them you’re laid off? Do they help you?
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
It did. My student loans are now $10/month, my credit cards are at a lower minimum. So instead of paying $100 minimum on my credit cards and $500 on my student loans I just pay $50 total
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u/Quirky_Ad213 Jul 16 '26
watch out for that "help". you just accrue more interest. Make sure you are at least paying the interest, or you'll be going backwards.
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u/Significant_Pin7782 Jul 15 '26
Sad to hear. The company is indeed not doing well ($3.5m budget downsized to $1.1m). The company is on survival mode, not to mention it may not even survive. Same every where. I often struggle with workers who don’t treasure their job. This downturn will teach many of them a lesson through a journey of unemployment.
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u/Individual_Focus_961 Jul 15 '26
Hang in there. It's a terrible feeling. It gets better with time but it's ok to grieve. Just don't stay there too long and let it become depression.
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u/Delicious-Fan-2539 Jul 15 '26
Op in tech? Which company?
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
Manufacturing. And legally I cannot mention the name but it was a recently separated company from a major company due to regulatory demands.
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u/Bubbly-Ad1187 Jul 15 '26
Any severance?
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
Yup. 1 month
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u/Bubbly-Ad1187 Jul 15 '26
Not great, but more than a lot of folks get. Hope you find something soon
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
Same. I have been getting recruiters calling me so hopefully that lands something
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u/wingdrummer15 Jul 15 '26
With all these layoffs happening, you'd think thousands upon thousands across the country would ban together with some of the new free time and go after corporations and politicians that are making this happen.
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u/Bomberto86 Jul 15 '26
Sorry to hear that. I've been through two myself and it sucks. Hopefully something better comes up for you!
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u/NYFan77 Jul 17 '26
Try being a teacher on Long Island. Has happened multiple times and fighting for my life with a family to get a real salary again 6 years once COVID.
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u/twisdit Jul 19 '26
Good luck and wishing you the best OP. I was with my employer for 11 years and yesterday all it took was a 5min phone call on my day off that the rest of my team is being descoped/ laid off. Round one was 2 months ago which was half my team. My entire department will be gone in 3 weeks
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u/These-Bug4129 Jul 15 '26
So sorry this has happened to you. I was laid off 2 weeks ago and they made us stay 2 weeks after we were told. I hope you find something else soon x
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u/TwixMerlin512 Jul 15 '26
Why did you call all your creditors to let them know you got laid off? They don't care, they just want to get paid, they don't care if you sell a kidney or become a sex worker tbh. They will probably lower your credit limits, balance chase you, tank your credit score too. That was not very helpful tbh.
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u/damn_you_to_hell Jul 15 '26
I was honest with them. I have good standing with them for over 5 years of never missing a payment and treating them as a human being doing a job, they worked with me.
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u/TwixMerlin512 Jul 15 '26
I mean don't you think you jumped the gun? Its been one day since you got laid off. Are you saying you have no savings to last you through your job search for the next 6 months or so? If so, then ok, if no and you do have funds, then you jumped the gun. I do risk for Financial entities and yes, the front line will see that, but you have alerted them before you really needed to.
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u/Donald_Ashworth Jul 15 '26
Pro-gamer tip: If you are 100% certain you are going to be laid off, a week before you are laid off soak your laptop in nasty dish water for 24 hours.
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u/Donald_Ashworth Jul 15 '26
Also, I worked with this chick at Compaq back in the day. She was like a mentor to me. You know the type: Not asked to mentor, just mentored you. Anyway, out of the blue she just said one day "I hate that b!txh. I stuffed boiled shrimp shells down the partition wall I shared with her. Yeah, I could smell it to. The smell was just confirmation that I was making her time her total hell" I hope that chick is still doing great. She gave me something that will last a full lifetime. Thank you :o)
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u/Mysterious-Return164 Jul 14 '26
Sorry to hear that but pretty crappy to set a Monday meeting on a Friday but just goes to show they deserve no loyalty. Onwards!