I got laid off again.
Basically, my boss went back to the well to hire "1 or 2 more developers" and discovered that in June 2025 there were AT LEAST TEN TIMES MORE competent, out-of-work software developers compared with THREE MONTHS PREVIOUS, when I was hired (March 2025). He told me about that, and it freaked me out. But for him, it was more thrilling and exciting (discovering it's a serious "employer's market" was awesome news for him -- it's only bad news for the employees like me)
Three months! That much change! That's insane. Apparently there's an apocalypse of sorts going on in this industry right now, due to AI.
While my boss was hiring his "1 or 2 more devs", he saw how much talent was out there and, the grass being greener on the other side (and him being a bit of a fool), he decided to "let me go" so he could give one of them a try. I was working out just fine, doing good work, capable, good at communicating, working well with the team. I received 0 warnings that things were anything other than 100% perfect at work. But you know, the grass is greener on the other side of that darn fence!
Kind of like when you have a wife -- she's faithful, nothing really wrong with her, but oh! That pretty young thing is so pretty! And you know all the downsides and flaws of your wife, whereas the exciting new "fling" is all novelty (and hence, excitement) and no downsides (ignorance is bliss, right?) Of course non-fools realize that the new "fling" will have her downsides as well, which you will soon be acquainted with.
Did I mention this boss told me, just DAYS after hiring me, that interpreting his dreams helped him gain insight & clarity to solve life issues he was having, WHILE HE WAS CHEATING ON HIS GIRLFRIEND. So this man is no stranger to "ooh, the grass is greener over there!" -- in short, a fool. He is high IQ and very capable at software development -- but a fool nonetheless.
I was given the news THE DAY AFTER I got back from a company retreat in the mountains of Colorado. They paid my airfare and lodging in a very nice AirBNB, as well as the activities we went out and did. Which was great, but they already decided they were laying me off before the trip! Talk about superficial. Grinning, smiling, being nice and friendly, all the while knowing what they planned to do. Granted all my faults -- still I couldn't do that to someone.
My boss was really a husband-wife team. Seriously, he was the Chief Technical Officer and the wife is the Chief Executive Officer. So they both were in charge of me, really. The wife said (on the conference call during which I was given the bad news) that they thought about it before the trip, and she thought with all the good work I'd done the past 4 months, I "deserved" or "earned" the trip. So they wanted me to have the trip.
Also, the wife was very much into woo-woo new age stuff. During the retreat I got to hear about the spirit journeys and "challenges" she underwent, such as being buried up to your neck for several hours, having to stand within a circle of rocks for 24 hours (no bathroom), ayahuasca mushrooms, etc. Her husband, meanwhile, would best be described as "mercurial".
The fact of the matter is, this job didn't have a long shelf life to begin with. They look forward to releasing the app at the end of the year. Unless it became the next Twitter, there's no chance they'd need (4) devs besides the owner who is also a dev. And if they let someone go, who would it be? Probably one of the senior devs -- maybe the oldest one (me?) So really, what I've lost here is about 4-5 months of contract work. Maybe it's for the best that I get out there NOW and find a more permanent job, rather than in December 2025!
Anyhow, if anyone has any leads or work in software development, please let me know (by PM).
Topic: Out of Work (Read 91293 times)