A Mumbai-based software engineer has shared his experience of being laid off on his birthday, prompting a discussion on Reddit about job cuts, changing technology requirements and the uncertainty faced by employees in the tech industry.
The full-stack developer said he received the layoff news on the day he had expected to spend celebrating his birthday.
“As the title says, received the bad news on my bday,” he wrote while sharing his experience on Reddit.
The engineer said he was among eight employees who were let go as his company gradually reduced its reliance on its India-based technology team. Despite being involved in several projects, he said he was surprised by the decision.
“Really surprising as I had a lot of dependency on multiple projects,” he added.
Developer had five years of experience across multiple technologies
The developer said he had around five years of experience and worked across a range of technologies, including React, Node.js, React Native, AWS and SQL.
In the comments section, he described himself as a full-stack engineer and said he also had knowledge of C#. Before his layoff, he said he had been working on an AI avatar project involving Pinecone and LiveGen.
“I’m a full stack engineer haha, and know C#. I was handling a AI avatar project with Pinecone and LiveGen, before I got laid off,” he wrote.
Following the job loss, the engineer said he was preparing for interviews while also continuing work on a personal project. According to him, the project had generated around $400 in revenue over the previous two months.
Users offer support and career advice
The post drew supportive responses from members of the tech community, with several users wishing him a happy birthday and encouraging him to continue looking for a new role.
One Reddit user offered to provide him with a referral for Amazon. Others suggested that he strengthen his backend capabilities and explore broader full-stack roles.
Some commenters also linked the experience to changing hiring patterns in the technology sector, particularly as companies increasingly adopt AI tools in areas traditionally associated with frontend development.
Another engineer recalls being laid off on birthday
The Mumbai engineer’s experience resonated with another Reddit user, who said he had faced a similar situation after being laid off from Oracle on his birthday.
“I was hoping to wake up to happy birthday calls, but I had received the lay off mail,” the user wrote.
He said he also struggled to understand the decision because several important projects relied on his work.
Reflecting on the experience, the Reddit user argued that losing a job is not necessarily an indication of an employee’s performance. He attributed his own layoff to what he described as poor business decisions.
“It was not us, us, it was because of incompetent business decisions that led to this,” he wrote.
The user also encouraged the original poster to take time to process the setback, while focusing on learning new skills and preparing for future opportunities.
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