A veteran Microsoft manager says he feels betrayed after learning he was among dozens of employees let go amid company restructuring. Joe Friend, a director of product management who led a team of nine, is now reassessing his future.
"It feels like a betrayal, and it impacts me financially," the 62-year-old told Business Insider. "I wasn't entirely surprised by the layoffs. I was surprised to get caught up in them," he said.
Friend was among 15 members of his working group, including four other managers, who were let go. Microsoft has cut roughly 15,000 jobs over the past year in an effort to reduce management layers and streamline processes. Other tech giants, including Google, Intel, and Amazon, are also reducing managerial roles in what's being called the "Great Flattening."
Friend's layoff in May disrupted his retirement plans. He intended to stay at Microsoft until at least his 65th birthday, a milestone that would allow most of his stock grants to continue vesting.
"My plan was to figure out what I wanted to do over the next three years," he said. "Then all of a sudden I'm at the doorstep, and I have to make that decision now."
Friend first joined Microsoft in 1994 as a lead program manager, working on Microsoft Word. In 1997, he moved with his family to Indonesia to work for an international NGO. He returned to the US in 2003, rejoined Microsoft, and stayed for 14 years before leaving in 2017 due to burnout. A brief stint at Stack Overflow followed, but he returned to Microsoft in 2018.
"I was really impressed with what I saw as significant cultural change at the company and agreed to go back," he said.
After being laid off, Friend received a "very comfortable" severance package and continued paychecks until mid-July. He now considers himself "semi-retired" and is focused on helping a young entrepreneur build a small business.
"It's not about making money," he said. "It's about supporting somebody who wants to transform their life."
Friend said he is unlikely to return to Big Tech, even if he takes on another role. "I think I'd rather earn $50,000 a year doing something I'm excited about," he said. "It doesn't mean I won't jump back into a job, but it certainly won't be Big Tech."
