Worker let go for being 'too expensive' brilliantly reminds former company of their worth
'Companies view employees as a liability rather than an asset,' a user noted.
Layoffs are happening everywhere. In fact, according to media reports, about 1.6 million people lost their jobs in America in June 2025. Now, companies come up with various reasons for terminating employees, including cost-cutting or downsizing, acquisition, seasonal fluctuations, or economic downfall, but imagine being fired because they feel you're too "expensive." That's what happened with an employee (u/el_kurgan_alas) working for a German company as their technical director. His story, shared on Reddit, sparked a widespread discussion on companies treating their employees as mere disposable labor.
The ex-employee had worked for the company for five years and had handled multiple responsibilities before he was fired in 2023. On a Monday morning, he was called for a meeting in one of their offices. Since the office was 680 miles away from where he lived, the man had to travel the day before, i.e., the Sunday. "After three hours working with the rest of the team on strategies and actions for the different markets and clients, my boss, who had come from Germany, told me that he had to talk to me during the coffee break," he recalled. When the ex-employee entered the room, he saw his boss waiting along with the HR director and the country manager. "We are happy with your performance, but we have to fire you because you are too expensive and we are making cutbacks," they announced. The man, surprised by the company's sudden decision, sneered and responded, "I am expensive if I don't produce for the company a considerable profit, regardless of what my salary is." They immediately showed him his severance package, and that prompted the ex-employee to interrupt again. He asked, "Do you remember that you made me sign a 'golden parachute agreement' whereby I could not leave the company without giving a year's notice? Well, that also obliged the company to compensate me with a year's salary and bonus if you fired me."
He left, but the company called him multiple times asking for help with some clients or research work that had been left incomplete. The former employee responded by asking them to pay (approx.) $1,150/day or $690/half-day. After his last company heard the demands, they stopped bothering him. "Tomorrow I'm going to sign in as Technical Director for EMEA with the world's biggest company in my sector, their direct competitor (since they fired me, the non-competition clauses do not apply)," the man concluded. Reacting to his story, u/tibsie shared, "Unfortunately, companies view employees as a liability rather than an asset, and a cost rather than an investment. Employees may cost money, but they give a return on the investment." A user who goes by u/acanthisittahot8025 said, "To be put into a position of being told you are too expensive isn’t a fun time. The first time this happened to me was interesting. But after the third time, I decided to go with it. Now I work for a company that contracts my services to the companies and that sees my compensation as too much. Even though they pay over double my compensation, if they would just keep me as an employee. I can’t complain; I make my own schedule of when I work and don’t. I actually enjoy this situation more. So I would like to thank those bean counters for helping me find a better way of living!"
Meanwhile, u/not_bill_hicks commented, "The good old, fire someone who makes 5 million but costs 200k, so we can replace him with someone who will make 2 million but only costs 150k. Corporate logic!" u/sundaebeneficial9024 shared, "I started on a new team at my job last December. I noticed the team lead was singling me out for criticism more than anyone else, getting mad about the kind of small mistakes everyone was making, and generally micromanaging me. I couldn’t figure out why until I discovered I made more money than most of the other people on the team. I think she was mad that I was expensive. (For clarity, I don’t make THAT much money. It’s more than everyone else makes, but way less than they deserve.)"
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