A Hyderabad-based software engineer at Microsoft has shared his experience of being laid off, claiming that his manager described him as “relatively young” and assumed he did not have “major responsibilities yet”.

The engineer, who said he has around three years of experience, shared his account on Reddit in a post titled, “Got laid off from Microsoft yesterday with 3 YOE - Need guidance”. He said most of his team was affected in the latest round of layoffs and that he was among those let go.

According to the engineer, his conversation with his manager included a reference to his age and presumed responsibilities. He said the manager told him he was “still relatively young” and assumed he did not have “major responsibilities yet”, which was why his name was included in the headcount reduction.

However, the engineer subsequently clarified that he did not necessarily believe this was the actual reason for his layoff. He suggested that his manager may have been trying to console him during the conversation.

The claim has nevertheless prompted discussion online about how employees may be perceived when companies make decisions during workforce reductions.

The engineer said the assumption that he had fewer responsibilities did not reflect his circumstances at home.

“I'm the sole earner in my family, support my parents, help fund my sister's education, and am also taking care of a loan my dad had taken,” he wrote.

Following the layoff, he said he was looking for a new opportunity and appealed to users for referrals and leads.