Man who worked for 40 years loses job just before retirement, sparking debate on loyalty

Respect at the workplace is a right of every employee. With years and dedicated services, this level of respect gradually increases. However, companies often take advantage of employees and use them only as long as they need. u/DriverOk9165 shared the tragic news of her father being fired after 40 years of dedicated service. She also mentioned that her father was nearing retirement, but even then, his company fired him ruthlessly. The dad had worked as a store manager at the company for his entire life. “My dad has been extremely loyal for decades and now that he is less than a decade out from retirement, he was informed 2 weeks before Christmas that his store is getting closed and they will not be transferring him to another store,” the post read.

She also mentioned that the closure would be happening within a month. The post further stated how the dad’s job of lifting over heavy stuff had caused problems to his physical health. “The only sort of silver lining is that CVS can’t just cut off their health insurance immediately, which is great considering he recently had surgery and probably needs another surgery soon,” the post read. The dad had worked 2 jobs to provide for the family and it was only until recently that he had retired from one of the jobs and he was fired from his current job as well. The dad had a rough life financially ever since he was a kid.

The post mentioned that he grew up poor and did meager jobs right from the age of 6. “He dug graves as a teenager and roughed. He went to a couple of years of college before he had to drop out to support his family. He wanted to be a writer. He even wrote a book for the family and it's funny as hell,” the post read. “It's just cruel that he spent his whole life working so hard and right when the finish line was in sight, he had everything taken away from him,” added the daughter.

She further shared a heart-wrenching incident that proved the dad’s commitment to his job. It read, “A couple of years ago, my dad posted on FB about some country musician coming to town that he loved. It read, ‘If I didn't have to close the store tonight, I would be there’ and I commented on the post saying he should just close the store early and go anyway. What difference is 2 hours gonna make?” The dad had a heart-touching response to the comment. “He laughed it off and said something about needing to have a good work ethic. Look where a good work ethic got him and don't make the same mistakes he did. They will use you until you are broken and throw you away because you cost too much,” the post concluded. u/compost-me said, “I'm so sorry to hear that your dad is going through this.” u/newwriter365 said, “It sounds like he’s the type of person who is fiercely independent. And CVS is taking advantage of that.”

Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 18, 2024. It has since been updated.