Mumbai techie gets laid off on birthday as company shrinks India tech team dependency: 'Really surprising'

A Mumbai-based techie has sparked a discussion online after sharing that he was laid off on his birthday as his company is “slowly ending dependency on the India tech team”.

In a Reddit post titled ‘Got laid off on bday, even with a lot of dependency’, the techie, who has five years of experience, said he was among eight employees laid off from his company. He said that the layoff came as a surprise because he had been handling multiple projects and believed there was significant dependency on his work.

“As the title says, received the bad news on my bday. 7 others got laid off as the company is slowly ending dependency on the India tech team. Really surprising as I had a lot of dependency on multiple projects,” he wrote.

He said that he is now preparing for interviews while also working on a personal project that has generated $400 in revenue over the past two months. The techie listed skills including React, Node.js, React Native, AWS and SQL. In the comments, he added that he is a full-stack engineer and also knows C#.

He also revealed that before being laid off, he was working on an AI avatar project involving Pinecone and LiveGen.

The post prompted several Reddit users to share similar experiences and offer support and job referrals.

One user wrote, “This feels like as if someone wrote my situation. I was laid off from Oracle this month on my bday . I was hoping to wake up to Happy birthday calls , but I had received the lay off mail , didn't even cut the cake since I was not in the mood because no metric defined me being redundant, plus there were multiple important project on me . So i totally feel your surprise aswell… I'm hoping brother that next yr we'll have a better b'day on a better company with better pay.”

“I can also help you with referral, but currently our company has mostly folks in Bangalore and some folks in Pune. Reach out in DM if these locations work for you. And happy birthday, take some time to process, brush up and come back stronger! Good luck,” commented another.

“Happy Birthday OP !! dont take it to heart , enjoy a week go on trip and start preparing also I can put a referral for you at Natwest UK bank . Wish you all the best ahead,” wrote a third user.

“Same happened with my husband, turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise in hindsight,” said another.

“Happy birthday friend! I too got laid off on Ganesh Chaturthi, oracle layoff. If you are preparing for something let me know too, if you need buddy on some project. Rest is chill, all the best!!” commented one user.

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)

Bhavya Sukheja is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 6 years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in covering stories that reflect everyday human experiences, with a focus on viral videos, social media trends, and human-interest features that inform readers while sparking meaningful conversations. She loves chasing page views and finding stories that tug at readers’ heartstrings.

Before joining Hindustan Times, Bhavya worked with Republic World and NDTV, where she developed her skills in real-time reporting and digital storytelling. Working in fast-paced newsrooms helped her build an editorial approach that prioritises accuracy, clarity, and audience engagement. Bhavya is driven by a curiosity about how people communicate and connect in the digital age. She is particularly interested in stories that highlight cultural shifts, shared emotions, and the evolving nature of online conversations.

When she is not tracking trends, Bhavya enjoys unplugging and spending time with her cat.