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With widespread layoffs occurring at businesses like Twitter (1), Meta, Amazon (2), and Microsoft (3), those working in the tech sector have been experiencing an uncertain period. More than 11,000 employees, or nearly 13 percent of its staff, were recently let go by Meta, the corporation that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The mass layoffs affected Raju Kadam (4), an Indian man employed as Meta's senior technical program manager. He used LinkedIn to announce the news of his layoff and stated that as he is on an H1-B visa, he must quickly find a new job, or he will have to leave the country.
He began with a melancholy tone about learning that he was one of the 11,000 Meta employees who had been put off, adding that he had not anticipated being a part of the layoff given his good performance throughout his time with the company. His nine-month journey into the workforce in Meta came to an abrupt end in a post that was published six days ago.
He continued by saying that he had lived in the country for 16 years and had two sons, Arjun and Yash, who were also citizens. More than 24,000 individuals liked the article, while many others responded with employment offers and supportive words.
Amita Gudipati, a LinkedIn user, was one of the people who came for assistance. He said, "Please DM me," and said he would try to help him since moving a family is difficult. He also wanted him to find employment.
Another user commented that he would be pleased to refer him for the openings at Uber and asked him to direct message him so that he could get the information to start the process.
A former coworker commented on Rahul, who wrote, "A technical and strategic approach with deep fundamental knowledge; I cannot wait to see the major things you do next and will also miss working with him, and their lunches and I wish them the best." However, nothing has been revealed since this demonstrates the effectiveness of social media and the methodology.
People struggling with employment should read, understand, and memorize these feature points to help them deal with the stress of being laid off or having their job eliminated.
1. Verify that it complies with the law
Verify that the company followed the law and be advised if any employee has received a termination notice. In the United States, employment is "at will," which means employers are free to fire workers at any moment, but they also have certain obligations (5).
Federal law (6) also mandates that larger businesses give employees 60 days' notice before undertaking a mass layoff if they meet specific conditions. The WARN Act (7) was created to give workers enough time to look for other employment or job-retaining options before they lose their jobs.
Employees may be let go for any reason, but they cannot be terminated for a crime. Let's say a worker was recently let go and had just come out to say they had been sexually harassed, had a disability, or were expecting a child. That might be an illegal termination, and small layoffs are scrutinized harder.
Still, with massive layoffs, it is challenging to demonstrate that specific employees were singled out if a whole department was let go. No employee should put off seeking legal advice during situations like this, and if they believe they have a case, they should pursue it.
2. Negotiate your departure
Sometimes, it becomes unavoidable for businesses to declare layoffs, but workers might still try to negotiate their parting salary. Severance compensation is occasionally provided to departing employees, even though it is not required by law.
When a position is offered or terminated, the conventional formula for determining this is one or two weeks of compensation for each year of service. Users can ask the employer for money or specifics on how the severance is paid and how to keep their health insurance benefits, among other things.
3. Use Social Media
As was already noted, social media usage is crucial in this generation because everyone may come across countless people posting that they have been fired or laid off and are looking for help, which also gives every employee the right to access it and share their experience. Their network will take notice and offer to help spread the word, just like Rahul Kadam did.
4. Communicate with your network
Apart from social media, now is also the time to use the phonebook's connections since asking for favors can be difficult for some people or easy for others, but trying to get advice from specialists in the contact list can be helpful. It might be helpful if the employee is no longer working. They also have little time for peace because they spend so much time communicating with relatives and friends for emotional support.
The anxiousness could be reduced by creating a routine that makes you feel productive. Anything from submitting a certain number of resumes each day to simply working out every day could be included in the regimen. After major tech companies made layoffs, employees of several companies are now facing uncertainty. It's important to maintain optimism while looking for work.
The development of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) (8) analysis of their situation and the adaptation of their skills to their jobs in other professions where the skills can be used in different ways. There is always hope at the end of the tunnel, and despite dealing with challenging circumstances, one should always be resilient and hopeful.
What's next?
Requesting references after being laid off is not shameful. A letter or email confirming that the employee was let go and not fired for poor performance could also be requested from the previous employer if the layoff was not a highly publicized occurrence. The fired employee is still a respectable individual and a valuable team member, and they will go on to other opportunities.
The research demonstrates that loose networks and extended connections will be more valuable for the user than any direct connections since they have more opportunities you would not have known about. It is bravery to reach out to the people every user must know well.
