A TikToker says she was laid off from a “big tech company” in Seattle and then forced to attend a “mandatory” company meeting where other employees flexed a catered lunch from an upscale restaurant.
In the video posted by TikToker Reyna (@itsreynalynx) on Oct. 12, she raps to the instrumental of “Super Freak,” changing the lyrics to what happened after she was laid off.
“We got on this mandatory meeting, and the first thing she said is, ‘Wow, it’s so nice to see everybody. Everybody is on time.’ I said, ‘Girl, we’re on time because we have anxiety because you laid us off,'” Reyna sings in the clip. “On the call, a bunch of other people who didn’t get laid off says, ‘It’s so nice to see you today.’ They continue to talk about this company that just bought them Din Tai Fung.”
She continues to explain that her team was told that they were laid off due to “budget cuts,” saying it was “thoroughly insensitive” that the company then catered an expensive meal for the employees who didn’t lose their jobs.
Reyna clarifies that she is not able to directly disclose the name of the company because she “signed an NDA.”
Microsoft is a leading guess in the comments. The software giant did have layoffs in mid-October, firing nearly 1,000 employees according to the Seattle Times. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, just east of Seattle.
“I just got laid off, from the big tech company called… ” she raps, saying nothing at the end of that line.
The word “Microsoft” rhymes with “laid off.”
“The way the company name rhymes perfectly and no one is getting it,” a user noted.
The restaurant, Din Tai Fung, has at least 3 Seattle-area locations. As another user noted: “Din Tai Fung Mi cro soft,” to which Reyna responded: “You’re on to something.”
The video has amassed over 175,000 views as of Wednesday, with commenters sharing their own experiences with “insensitive” lay-off practices.
“This reminds me of when my work took our sales marketing and new business teams out for dinner and fired a bunch of people the next day,” one user wrote.
“I was laid off in August after 3 years. A week before they promised no layoffs. I got paid for the rest of the day, no severance,” another said.
“My ex company laid us all off and then proceeded to continue to have daily morning meetings about how well the company was doing,” a third added.
Others asked why she attended the meeting if she had been laid off. In a response comment, Reyna explains that her team was on a “vendor contract” and was still contracted to work for 30 more days after they were laid off.