Mumbai techie laid off as firm winds down India tech team — ‘Received bad news on my b'day’

The termination came as a significant shock to the techie, who noted that the Indian tech team was deeply involved in the company's operations and held “a lot of dependency on multiple projects.”

A Mumbai-based software developer was handed a pink slip on their birthday as their employer initiated a fresh round of layoffs to gradually reduce its reliance on its Indian technical workforce.

The developer, who has five years of industry experience, shared the ordeal in a now-viral Reddit post, highlighting the sudden, unpredictable nature of the ongoing tech sector's downsizing.

“7 others got laid off as the company is slowly ending dependency on the India tech team,” the techie wrote in the post.

According to the post, the termination came as a significant shock to the techie, who noted that they were deeply involved in the company's operations and held “a lot of dependency on multiple projects.”

Moving forward

Despite the sudden career setback, the developer shared that they were maintaining a forward-looking approach. Armed with a robust full-stack background that includes React, Node.js, React Native, AWS, and SQL, the techie said they are already preparing for upcoming job interviews and channelling efforts into a personal side project.

“Currently prepping for interviews and working on a personal project, which has grossed $400 in revenue (last 2 months). If it helps, 5 years of experience and worked in React, Nodejs, React Native, AWS, SQL, among others,” the techie wrote.

Netizens react

The post quickly gained traction on the platform, with the online tech community rallying behind the developer and offering exact words of encouragement, shared experiences, and job referrals.

Many users empathised with the unfortunate timing of the layoff. “This feels like as if someone wrote my situation," one user shared. "I was laid off from Oracle this month on my birthday... So i totally feel your surprise aswell… I'm hoping, brother, that next year we'll have a better birthday at a better company with better pay."

Another user echoed the sentiment and commented, “Worst birthday gift. Business decisions like these affect people like us, and they rarely matter at the company level. Don't give up, you can do it.”

The comment section soon transformed into a makeshift networking hub, with several industry peers stepping in to offer direct referrals.

“I can also help you with referral, but currently our company has mostly folks in Bangalore and some folks in Pune," one commenter offered. "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.”

Another added: “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.”

Others praised the techie's entrepreneurial resilience and urged them to continue scaling their side hustle while they job-search. "Scale the personal project while appearing for interviews," advised one user. "Aim should be to have your own enterprise in the next 10 years."

About the Author

Arshdeep Kaur is a Senior Content Producer at Mint, where she reports and edits across national and international politics, business and culture‑adjacent trending stories for digital audience. With five years in the newsroom, she strives to balance the speed and rigor of fast‑moving news cycles and longer, context‑rich explainers. <br><br> Before joining LiveMint, Arshdeep served as a Senior Sub‑Editor at Business Standard and earlier as a Sub‑Editor at Asian News International (ANI). Her experience spans live news flows, enterprise features, and multi‑platform packaging. <br><br> At Mint, she regularly writes explainers, quick takes, and visuals‑led stories that are optimized for search and social, while maintaining the publication’s standards for accuracy and clarity. She collaborates closely with editors and the audience team to frame angles that resonate with readers in India and abroad, and to translate complex developments into accessible, high‑impact journalism. <br><br> Arshdeep's academic training underpins her interest towards policy and markets. She earned an MA in Economics from Panjab University and holds a Post‑Graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the India Today Media Institute (ITMI). This blend of economics and broadcast storytelling informs her coverage of public policy, elections, macro themes, and the consumer‑internet zeitgeist. <br><br> Arshdeep is based in New Delhi, where she tracks breaking developments and longer‑horizon storylines that shape public discourse.

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