Company firing 'star employee' gets instant karma when big clients come calling
A short-sighted 'restructuring' turned into the best career move she never planned.
Reddit user u/inkiered0604 shared a story that many called the perfect example of corporate karma. "Three months ago, my company did 'restructuring' and laid off half the marketing department, including me. No warning, just called into a meeting on Friday and told my position was eliminated effective immediately," she said in the August 30 post, which has gained 18k likes so far. For the past two years, she had managed the company’s largest account, a regional restaurant chain worth around $200,000 annually. "Built a great relationship with their marketing director, understood their brand inside and out," she explained.
During her exit interview, HR dismissed any "loss" and told her they would "redistribute [her] responsibilities" and that "the company would be fine." Six weeks later, the client reached out to her on LinkedIn. Her replacement had botched a major campaign launch. "Wrong demographics, missed deadlines, terrible creative that didn’t match their brand at all," the client told her. They asked if she would take over. She agreed, this time as a freelancer. "Signed a contract for $300k annually, more than they were paying my old company because I’m handling strategy, creative, and media buying all in-house now," she wrote.
When her former boss called to ask why they had lost their biggest account, she said she "had no idea, maybe they should have kept someone who understood the account." As she put it: "Sometimes the trash takes itself out, but occasionally you get to help it along." The fallout continued. "Two more of their clients reached out this week asking about my services," she updated. Her old company is now "scrambling to hire three people to replace what I was doing solo." Reflecting on the experience, she added, "Sometimes you don’t realize your own value until someone else shows you the door. Best thing that ever happened to my career."
Her story shows what can happen when companies underestimate the people holding things together. A study of 76 bank branches published in The Exchange found that when experienced employees walked out the door, customer satisfaction dropped, and clients often followed. The trust those employees built was worth more than leadership realized. The post drew hundreds of supportive responses, many calling it a satisfying dose of workplace karma. u/Huge212 commented, "This is basically corporate karma at its finest. After 10 years in the game, I've seen this play out so many times that companies think people are replaceable until they realize how much institutional knowledge walks out the door. The fact that you're now making more as a freelancer while they're scrambling is just chef's kiss."
u/gilgamesh1776 wrote, "I lived a similar scenario 4 years ago. The agency head kept telling me I was wrong when I told him he was pissing off our biggest client, and he'd rather lose the business than let a woman tell him how things were gonna be. Took the contract and creative team with me. Pretty much tripled my pay." u/phungus1138 added, "I have a family member doing the exact same thing in a different industry. They are poaching customers left and right, and doing it publicly, tagging them in Facebook posts welcoming their new clients. It's hilarious."
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