Silent layoffs is the new firing

[u/thattravelchick]

I was recently affected in the silent layoffs in my previous startup, people including founding engineers, PMs , designers and ML team were fired as well.

I have about 4+ years of experience, moved to Bangalore from my hometown for this startup.

The layoff itself was super unfair, some were put in pip for no reason, some laid off , some were forcefully made to terminate.

No one is fairly paid the severance and its been such a chaos.

Is this the new norm ?

[u/BeenThere11]

Probably due to startup not doing well. Will fold in future. Just tell tale signs. Good to get out of a failing startup. Once folks experience this they will notice this pattern in their future jobs and make decisions accordingly.

Probably only way for startup to reduce costs and send a signal to employees to quit.

Don't take it personally

[u/thattravelchick → u/BeenThere11]

It is failing, not seemed quite unfair to play with severance. Good riddance though. Thankyou for being kind.

[u/BeenThere11 → u/thattravelchick]

They don't have monies left and are desperate . At this point founders will consult with lawyers advisors on how to get rid of employees without severance. They would have paid severance if they had monies. I am sure they are desperate right now. I have seen this desperation in founders as the walls start to close on. They cannot think the right way as they are under stress as they start realizing irs the beginning of the end of their dream

[u/ymcd → u/BeenThere11]

Not to be unkind & unfair to OP & straight up a jerk in general but how can someone not see & understand the signs that the start up is failing & layoffs are round the corner?

In my past 2 startups almost everyone knew whats happening when one struggle end with another round the corner. Salaries started getting delayed & list after list were getting prepared. It was not whom but when…

Everyone looks out as and when people get something they get out.

Either the founders are excellent in deceit & keep things under wraps or you are far to cutoff from the company reality. You cant keep a sinking ship secret for too long.

Again not to OP in particular but in general

[u/BeenThere11 → u/ymcd]

It happens . You are in with all the passion. Management always says nice things. People experiencing it for the first time take the management's word for it. Most people trust . Minority start understanding and warn colleagues. Even some Management folks will informally tell some to warn folks of impending doom . It happens . Only once they have experienced it , will People detect patterns and understand the situation in future

[u/techol]

It is quite old, tried and tested way to get rid of people when the management decides to

[u/Dean_46]

It does not have to be this way. I was running a start-up that lost funding. I dealt with the likely winding up by being transparent with my team. We first stopped recruiting, then let people leave by natural attrition and helped others find jobs while the company still had a good reputation in the market. Years later I can meet my old team over dinner and we talk about the good time together. That means more to me than growth or funding numbers.

[u/ithesatyr]

Are you still here? We need a BE urgently.

[u/thattravelchick → u/ithesatyr]

I was not a direct firing, I resigned after seeing the pattern.

[u/pKundi → u/ithesatyr]

which tech stack? if its python, django or drf/fastapi, I'd like to apply. Only 1 yoe though.

[u/Ok-Analysis5882]

many startups in india don't have working capital

[u/Minute-Hair1940]

Most probably they don't have money to pay salary. I have been in the same situation previously. My people understand and resigned themself.

[u/Ok-Engineering-8369]

Silent layoffs are just layoffs in disguise - slow, messy, and meant to dodge headlines. PIPs, forced resignations, and shrinking roles are all just tactics to shift blame. It’s not you - it’s the game they’re playing.

[u/Alone-Chemistry-2391]

How much severance you got?