Stories about sudden layoffs and poor treatment at workplaces often strike a nerve online, especially when employees feel they were discarded after handling important responsibilities. A recent Reddit post has now gone viral after a former employee revealed that the same company which fired him before Diwali later contacted him months later asking for help with work-related data issues.
In his post, the employee said he was informed about his termination just two days before Diwali and described the experience as emotionally difficult. The user wrote, “I kind of have mild trauma because of the way they fired me. They told me I'm being fired 2 days before Diwali.”
He further added, “They ignored me like I'm some POS employee after dropping the news. I managed all their data, they didn't know a thing and suddenly they realised after 10 months of hiring me that the job expectations have changed, and since their data is sorted they need a good evaluation person.”
The employee said he had spent months managing and organising company data before being let go because the organisation later decided it needed someone focused more on evaluation work. According to the post, he is still searching for another opportunity but admitted the incident affected his desire to continue working.
Sharing what happened recently, he wrote, “Got a call today, after 6 months to ask about data. I laughed.”
Another Reddit user, who said they worked in HR and tech, shared a similar experience from their first company. The user wrote, “Eventually got laid off right around the first lockdown happened. It was my first job and all that. I put in so much effort. Has everything organised. Few days later I got a call from a senior colleague asking me to come back. Lol no thank you.”
The same commenter later explained that management may have realised its mistake after the layoffs and attempted to bring them into another team.
Several people in the discussion advised the former employee not to provide any support for free if the company contacted him again.
One user suggested, “Offer them an hourly consultant rate.” Another commented, “Now you have leverage over them. Work as a contractor. Ask them 5x Rate all Paid in Advance!” A different commenter added, “You need to charge them for any calls they make related to business.”
Some users even suggested quoting unusually high fees since the company appeared dependent on knowledge and systems managed by the former employee.
One user mentioned they had mostly heard such stories from overseas workplaces and were surprised to see more similar incidents being discussed in India now.
Others believed the best response was to ignore the company entirely and move on. One commenter shared their own experience of being contacted shortly after leaving a toxic workplace where they had automated several systems and become the unofficial “tech guy” for the team.
In his post, the employee said he was informed about his termination just two days before Diwali and described the experience as emotionally difficult. The user wrote, “I kind of have mild trauma because of the way they fired me. They told me I'm being fired 2 days before Diwali.”
He further added, “They ignored me like I'm some POS employee after dropping the news. I managed all their data, they didn't know a thing and suddenly they realised after 10 months of hiring me that the job expectations have changed, and since their data is sorted they need a good evaluation person.”
The employee said he had spent months managing and organising company data before being let go because the organisation later decided it needed someone focused more on evaluation work. According to the post, he is still searching for another opportunity but admitted the incident affected his desire to continue working.
Sharing what happened recently, he wrote, “Got a call today, after 6 months to ask about data. I laughed.”
Reddit users react
The post quickly picked up attention from users who related to the experience and shared their own workplace stories. One commenter reacted by writing, “It seems you had the last laugh.”Another Reddit user, who said they worked in HR and tech, shared a similar experience from their first company. The user wrote, “Eventually got laid off right around the first lockdown happened. It was my first job and all that. I put in so much effort. Has everything organised. Few days later I got a call from a senior colleague asking me to come back. Lol no thank you.”
The same commenter later explained that management may have realised its mistake after the layoffs and attempted to bring them into another team.
Several people in the discussion advised the former employee not to provide any support for free if the company contacted him again.
One user suggested, “Offer them an hourly consultant rate.” Another commented, “Now you have leverage over them. Work as a contractor. Ask them 5x Rate all Paid in Advance!” A different commenter added, “You need to charge them for any calls they make related to business.”
Some users even suggested quoting unusually high fees since the company appeared dependent on knowledge and systems managed by the former employee.
Layoffs and toxic work culture
The Reddit thread also opened up a broader discussion around layoffs, poor exit handling and toxic workplace environments. Some commenters said companies often fail to properly document systems and processes, which later creates problems once employees leave.One user mentioned they had mostly heard such stories from overseas workplaces and were surprised to see more similar incidents being discussed in India now.
Others believed the best response was to ignore the company entirely and move on. One commenter shared their own experience of being contacted shortly after leaving a toxic workplace where they had automated several systems and become the unofficial “tech guy” for the team.
