# If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-this-call-you-are-part-of-the-unlucky-group-that-is-being-laid-off/955572>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 6, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-this-call-you-are-part-of-the-unlucky-group-that-is-being-laid-off/955572 "2021-12-06T14:33:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-this-call-you-are-part-of-the-unlucky-group-that-is-being-laid-off/955572/61 "2021-12-11T02:15:16Z")

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I once had a sales rep contract terminated, and I’d seen it coming a mile away. While I didn’t know exactly when it would happen, I’d been thinking long and hard about it and knew exactly what I was going to do.

I took a 5PM phone call from my manager and got fired. Then I made one phone call. The next morning I told everyone that company X had terminated my contract and I was going to work for company Y.

It would’ve been _customary_ for me to simply say I was leaving company X to go to work for company Y. But I refused to do that, because I was really popular with my clients and I didn’t want to make anything easy for my successor.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-this-call-you-are-part-of-the-unlucky-group-that-is-being-laid-off/955572/62 "2021-12-11T02:46:29Z")

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Paid time off, I’m guessing.

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-this-call-you-are-part-of-the-unlucky-group-that-is-being-laid-off/955572/63 "2021-12-11T09:30:27Z")

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The worst one that I can recall happened at a company where I worked in the 90s. There was a layoff and everyone was told in the morning except for one guy who was visiting a client out of town. He spent most of the day with the client and at around 3pm was in a conference room with the client and called the office for a scheduled phone meeting.

Everyone on our side knew that he had been canned but couldn’t say anything. So the meeting was had with the guy even taking on some action items. He flew home that night and was laid off when he came in the next morning.

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