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Laid off after 20 years at Microsoft, ex-manager says job loss derailed retirement plans
The job loss came as a shock to Friend, who had planned to remain with the company until his 65th birthday — a milestone that would have allowed most of his stock grants to continue vesting even after retirement.
The job loss came as a shock to Friend, who had planned to remain with the company until his 65th birthday — a milestone that would have allowed most of his stock grants to continue vesting even after retirement.
After more than two decades at Microsoft, 62-year-old Joe Friend’s career came to an abrupt end earlier this year when he was laid off, upending his retirement plans. Nearly six months later, Friend says he has come to terms with the loss but admits that his future in Big Tech is over, Business Insider reported.
Friend, who served as a director of product management leading a nine-member team, said he first heard rumours of an organisational restructuring that could affect management roles earlier this year. However, he did not expect his position to be among those cut.
In May, Friend learned that he and 14 others from his department, including four managers, had been laid off. He revealed he wasn’t entirely surprised by the layoffs, but was surprised to get caught up in them.
The job loss came as a shock to Friend, who had planned to remain with the company until his 65th birthday — a milestone that would have allowed most of his stock grants to continue vesting even after retirement. He said that his plan was to figure out what he wanted to do over the next three years, adding that all of a sudden he had to make that decision there and then.
Friend’s experience mirrors that of thousands of others affected by Microsoft’s ongoing job cuts. In May, the company eliminated around 6,000 positions, followed by a further 9,000 in July, as part of efforts to streamline operations and reduce managerial layers. A spokesperson told Business Insider that the restructuring was aimed at making the company more efficient.
Other major tech firms — including Google, Intel, and Amazon — have also reduced managerial roles this year. Although total layoffs remain lower than in the pandemic years, white-collar hiring has slowed significantly, making it difficult for many displaced workers to find new opportunities.
Following the layoff, he continued to receive his salary until mid-July and later received a “very comfortable” severance package roughly equal to his annual pay. This financial cushion allowed him time to reassess his options.
Rather than rushing into another corporate role, Friend consulted a financial adviser to evaluate early retirement possibilities. He explored several job opportunities, though none materialised. Now, he describes himself as “semi-retired” and has turned his focus to mentoring a young entrepreneur in building a small business — a quieter but fulfilling next chapter after a long career in Big Tech.
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