‘Never took a break, never slowed down’: Redditor laid off from Amazon after 17 years, netizens react
A Reddit post has gone viral after a longtime Amazon employee shared a deeply emotional account of being laid off after 17 years with the company. The post titled — Got laid off after 17 years — lays bare the disillusionment of a worker who had spent nearly two decades at Amazon without a break, only to lose his job without warning.
The employee wrote that he broke down in tears after reading the layoff email. For the first time in years, he said, he spent a morning cooking breakfast and taking his children to school — a simple routine that made him question how much of his life had been consumed by work.
“I told myself I was doing it for my family, even when I was too tired to play with my kids or sit down for dinner,” the post read. “Seeing them smile that day hit me hard. Maybe this is what living is?”
The story has struck a nerve online, drawing reactions and sparking conversations about burnout, job security, and corporate loyalty. Many users called the post a stark reminder of how vulnerable workers remain, even after years of service.
“Dude got played. The company does not care about you,” one commenter wrote.
Another warned against companies that promote “unlimited PTO” as a perk, noting: “Every study I’ve seen shows people with unlimited PTO take less time off. It’s a burnout culture indicator.”
Others urged professionals to rethink their priorities. “You should work to live your life, not live to work,” one user said. “You’re just a small cog in their machine that will be replaced.”
The discussion comes at a time when Amazon itself is reportedly preparing for its largest layoff ever. According to a CNBC report, the company is set to begin cutting as many as 30,000 corporate job, impacting nearly every business vertical.
With around 350,000 corporate employees, the move would slash roughly 9% of Amazon’s white-collar workforce. The company, which employs 1.54 million people globally — most in warehouse and logistics roles — has not yet commented on the reported cuts.
