A viral TikTok appears to capture the last meal of barbecue that workers get to share after a mass layoff at their place of work. User @grizzalmighty_ got over 665,000 views on his video, which touches on the strange practices companies use after laying off their employees.
@grizzalmighty_ Our last meal ad a family 🥺#DoritosDareToBeBurned #unemployed #sad #lastdayofwork #layoff ♬ Way Maker (Instrumental Version) – Instrumental Christian Songs, Christian Piano Music & Contemporary Christian Music
His video shows the supposedly laid-off workers gathered around a table of BBQ that includes large plates of meat, coleslaw, beans, and bread with overlaid text that reads, “they just let all of us go,” followed by a crying face and broken heart emoji.
“It’s our last meal guys,” the TikTok creator says as he pans from the table of food to a dejected-looking worker shaking his head. “We were laid off today. But at least we’re getting BBQ,” he says in the video. In the caption, the TikToker also refers to his colleagues as family and says this is likely their “last meal” together.
Before you become incensed over this company’s apparent lack of respect for its employees, you should know that the BBQ incident didn’t really happen. @grizzalmighty_ confirmed with the Daily Dot the video is “satire.”
However, that didn’t stop users from asking for more details in the comments. “What happened?” and “What company?” were common questions among those who wanted to know what kind of employer would give its recently laid-off workers a BBQ party.
Others commiserated with the TikToker’s apparent misfortune by sharing their own experiences of being unceremoniously laid off from their jobs. One user even called out his former employer by name. “Spectrum called a meeting. Told us how hard we worked and exceeded expectations and how proud they were and then that our entire dept was laid off,” they recounted.
From the comments section, it seems many real-life workplaces use the tactic of having a “party” for laid-off workers. “We had [a] Christmas party and after we ate they handed us a folder, telling us the company will be closing in a few weeks,” one user shared. “I was laid off last September also. Got Morton’s steak for final meal,” said another.
But many other users who were let go shared they didn’t even get free BBQ to soften the blow. “At least you got that all we got told no insurance as of today we close next week,” one user shared.
The video by @grizzalmighty_ gained so many views that other TikTok users have gone viral after stitching the original video and responding to it. And not everyone agrees that BBQ makes things better after being laid off.
One such video by TikTok creator @feloniousfalafel sees the creator remove his glasses after watching the original post, look straight into the camera, purse his lips, and let out a deep sigh. He also seems to question the “laid-off” TikToker’s gratitude for the BBQ by asking, “but at least?” in the caption.
The Daily Dot reached out to @feloniousfalafel for comment via email.
