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Comment by akudha | Hacker News Reader

2024? It happened to me in 2020, right after Covid. I was unable to reach a colleague, thought he was sick (not unusual, he had health issues often). Until the “standup” rolled around and we were told he was laid off.

Apparently he himself found out after most of his logins were shut off.

Corporate world is as gutless as it is soulless

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I've heard from a friend that the way they found someone was laid off was by Google Calendar suddenly removing the person that was laid off from invites while in a 1:1 with their manager. The manager had no context. That kind of inhuman feeling is what exemplifies the state of layoffs in the modern day.

Last time I was laid off (2022) it worked this way. It was a remote job - I was pulled into a random 1:1 meeting with my manager and immediately afterward I found all my permissions/access was gone.

Last time I was laid off (exactly 1 month ago) even my manager (allegedly) didn't know I was laid off until after my offboarding meeting with HR. Neither did the manager of the consulting engagement to which I was assigned (thankfully my now-former employer didn't terminate my accounts until noon, which gave me time to reach out to her on Slack and coordinate returning the client-issued laptop I had just received days prior).

My biggest complaint is that lying is just completely endemic. The best liars, who lie so well you question if they're lying when it's right in front of you, are at the top, and you just progress down from there with everyone playing along to known lies. Finding and working in areas with people who care about the truth is like a priceless haven.

Apply that to academia and education lol

I found out I was let go around 3:15 on a Thursday because the person sitting across from me emailed me something, then told me it just bounced back as 'undeliverable'. 3 minutes later someone showed up with a box and gave me 5 minutes to pack my things. This was 1999. Corporate world has been gutless/soulless for a long time ;)

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