An Indian software engineer, based in Mumbai, has revealed that he was laid off on his birthday despite working across multiple projects, prompting an outpouring of support and a wider debate about job security in the technology industry.
The full-stack developer shared his experience on Reddit's r/developersIndia, saying he received the news on the very day he had expected to be celebrating. 'As the title says, received the bad news on my bday,' he wrote.
The post quickly attracted hundreds of votes and comments, with other technology workers sharing similar experiences and discussing how changing hiring requirements, restructuring and the growing use of AI tools are affecting software careers.
The post comes as technology companies continue to announce significant job cuts in 2026.
More than 165,000 tech jobs had been announced as cut globally by the end of September, according to data reported by Fast Company, with September alone accounting for 10,799 technology-sector layoffs in the US.
Companies have cited a mix of factors including restructuring, cost-cutting and changing business priorities, while AI investment and automation have increasingly become part of the conversation around workforce reductions.
Tech Worker Says He Was Laid Off Along With Seven Others
According to the developer, he was one of eight employees let go as his company gradually reduced its dependence on its India-based technology team. What made the decision particularly surprising for him was his involvement in several projects. 'Really surprising as I had a lot of dependency on multiple projects,' he wrote.
The engineer said he had around five years of experience and had worked with technologies including React, Node.js, React Native, AWS and SQL.
In the Reddit discussion, he also described himself as a full-stack engineer with knowledge of C#. Before losing his job, he said he had been working on an AI avatar project involving Pinecone and LiveGen.
His Personal Project Had Already Made $400
The developer said he was now preparing for job interviews while continuing to work on a personal project. According to his Reddit post, the project had generated around $400 in revenue over the previous two months.
Several commenters encouraged him to use the project as evidence of his skills while searching for his next role. One Reddit user even offered to refer him for a role at Amazon, while others suggested broadening his backend skills and considering wider full-stack positions.
Another user shared a similar experience, by commenting: 'This feels like as if someone wrote my situation. I was laid off from Oracle this month on my bday . I was hoping to wake up to Happy birthday calls , but I had received the lay off mail , didn't even cut the cake since I was not in the mood because no metric defined me being redundant, plus there were multiple important project on me . So i totally feel your surprise aswell.'
Reddit Users Link Layoff to AI and Changing Tech Jobs
The discussion took a broader turn as users debated whether the traditional software engineering job market is changing as AI-powered coding tools become more capable. One commenter argued that frontend development could face increasing pressure from AI agents capable of generating increasingly complex websites and applications.
Another suggested that developers with frontend experience should consider expanding into backend technologies such as Python, Java or .NET.
The original poster himself said his company was reducing its reliance on its India-based technology team. There is no indication in his post that the company explicitly told him AI was the reason for his layoff.
