re: Continuing on my work theme…how many people have you had to fire/lay off in your career?

A bunch. Maybe 15 overall I'd say which in that situation seems like a bunch when it's not pleasant to do.

Worst was a young single mother w 3 year old darling twin girls. Very good account manager, educated, attractive and personable etc. Real asset to the team. She struggled due to a POS father of the kids and fiance who out of the blue assaulted her out of anger and she jailed him. She had zero family in the state as a support system. Caught her falsifying expense reports, weekly time reporting (wasn't salary but had a great hourly wage) and other reporting violations. Purely stupid decisions but sincerely was out of desperation. Me, 2 HR and my superiors were all in to dismiss her and it was horrible. The intensity wasn't hostile, it was heartbreaking. I've not seen a woman beg and breakdown like that other than during things like loss by death.

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you know if it was my choice dawg but it’s over my head on this one came from the top

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I have had to say this then had it followed by hugs or them ask for advice etc. It truly sucks and they know it is not you making the call.

I’ve had to fire more than I ever would’ve wanted to but thankfully never anyone who hadn’t earned it. I’ve never had to layoff thank God

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I’m probably at about 10 across 4 companies in my career so far. Sadly that number will likely go up.

Oh yeah and did you have to fire any for banging a coworker?

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I'm a fairly laid-back manager who tries to be flexible when I can. I want to trust that you can perform your job duties without constant supervision. If you need support, I will be happy to do so; there's a difference between providing support and babysitting. If you fail to perform your job duties, or do something that violates my trust, I can be very unpleasant (Can't we all?). I have managed 100-150 different employees over 15 years (obviously not all at once) in the corporate world.

Fired: 4 (none for banging a co-worker)
Laid off: 8

Laying off sucks and I had to fight to get them a severance. I mostly used the "Last hired, first fired" approach, but I had to lay off a 65-year-old. I felt OK on that one, only because he did not need to work. One of them moved from Ohio to take the job, only to be laid off eight months later. Thankfully, she found another job within two months.


I have fired four people directly, and it sucks:

1. One lied about their parent passing and received funeral pay. He went on a vacation and had no PTO.

2. Fired one for missing critical deadlines six months in a row. Warned him that if he missed another deadline, that he would lose his job. He was begging for his job, but he had his chances, and I tried to work with him.

3. I am fairly flexible when it comes to WFH or office. However, this employee was grossly underperforming, and so I had him come into the office as a part of his PIP. He came into the office for a few days, then would try to WFH. Eventually, I called him on Teams, and he told me that he was on the phone, and that I needed to wait until he was finished. I fired him over Teams

4. Fired a supervisor for repeated unprofessional behavior toward his team (swearing, yelling, talking down, micromanagement, etc). I cannot stand abuse of authority. I gave him two write-ups, and fired him on the third.

Almost fired two others for insubordination. You can ask questions, but constantly questioning every request, and refusing to do what's asked grates on you quickly. I had another cuss me out in my office, but I did not fire him, but I wanted to know why he was so upset (I did warn him not to talk this way to others). He had some valid reasons, and it was more frustration with the situation than with me. I sent him home for the day and met with him the next morning. It worked out, and sometimes, tough conversations are good.

Fired a football coach and a basketball coach, but hired them both back so I got that going for me.

Fired only the ones that brought it on themselves for whatever reason. Never lost anyone I wasnt ok replacing either. Its way easier when they do some malicious or dumb shite. Parting with the genuinely nice ones that simply couldnt meet the standards are the most difficult conversations.

Only ever managed or owned private businesses so no layoffs or cuts due to corporate decisions.

Here's a theme for your next series of threads...


It's called shut the frick up. Look into it

I briefly ran the ops for a directional company and had to let go 4-5 people within a couple weeks. I've also run off a small handful of contractors and service personnel from managing drilling ops for a major oil co - the incompetence was enough to get them fired when getting back to their office. Maybe 12-15 people fired with prejudice over 15+ years.

Banging a coworker - no, but we fired a coach from a gym I own for dating a few friends at the same time who were clients. That triage was fun.

I generally do not like to break up the band just for things going wrong if the person is trying, willing to learn, and demonstrates commitment.

Several back when I was working as the head of my department. It goes with the territory.

I don't fire people, they fire themselves.