Company fires employee of 14 years, then accidentally tries to recruit them for the same job — for less pay
'He was very enthusiastic, telling me how my experience is a perfect fit for a great job he's trying to fill.'
A loyal employee (u/hadleyconroy) had been working at a company for 14 years but was thoughtlessly laid off during a restructuring process. Apparently, they fired them not because of performance; it was mainly to reduce payroll and related expenses and improve the company's reputation in front of shareholders. Somehow, the employee had made peace with the decision until their former recruiter contacted them, offering the same job profile for less pay. They posted the incident on Reddit on January 8, where several voiced their opinions on the company's dishonest ways.
After firing them, the company struggled with the mounting workload, so they kept the person on a transition contract until year-end. "During the first six months of that contract, they tried to outsource my entire job to a team in India, but the whole thing was a complete disaster," they explained. When the outsourcing failed, the company posted a new job profile, but with a lower salary than the ex-employee was making. That's when the recruiter reached out to the person via LinkedIn. "He was very enthusiastic, telling me how my experience is a perfect fit for a great job he's trying to fill. As I was reading the job description, I realized it was my old job," they shared. The person played along and asked for the client's name to confirm if it was truly their former company. The funniest part is that the recruiter saw their profile but completely overlooked the large company logo on it. "The same company he's hiring for is where I spent the last 14 years," the person concluded.
Companies terminate employees with high salaries and replace them with new hires during the cost-cutting process. Sometimes, they also plan to recruit from countries with lower-wage labor. A survey by Resume Builder found that 30% of American companies with layoffs replaced their laid-off U.S. employees with offshore workers. This helps companies reduce payroll and other employee-related expenses due to remote setups. The report published in August 2024 confirmed that another 24% of companies planned to do the same in 2025. "Organizations opting to lay off workers and replace them with offshore employees are targeting roles that can be easily managed remotely, such as customer service, tech support, and data entry positions. Offshore workers live in countries where they have been working globally for years, so there is an existing experienced workforce in place," says Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller.
Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit story, u/educational_pie4385 commented, "This isn’t that uncommon, and usually you can easily get the job. It will save them money on training, and you can ask for a higher salary. I’ve had a few past employers offer me substantial bonuses to come back to my former job. Always through a neutral party, and in one case, I went back." Similarly, u/jauntyk wrote, "I’ve had this happen. Sometimes (like in my case), it’s because they can’t get qualified candidates, so they want to find out exactly what you did and your qualifications so they can tailor the job description or coach their candidates. Don’t waste your time on these." u/dlouie97 shared, "I had a recruiter contact me once about a job at my current company at the time. They don’t read. Apply and see what happens."
More on Scoop Upworthy
Company tries to rehire ex-worker with a 50% pay cut — he quits before setting foot in the office
Man can't stop laughing as recruiter's job offer keeps getting worse with every detail
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