Imagine uprooting your life and moving to a new city to take a job. Then imagine being terminated three months later via Zoom call.
That’s what TikTok creator Rie (@theritzyrie) documented on Wednesday, in a video in which a representative from her now-former place of employment broke the news. As of Sunday morning, Rie’s unceremonious firing had more than 7.4 million views and is approaching 570,000 likes.
The video starts with two people on the Zoom call greeting her, and then one reads from a script where he talks about the department being asked to look at resources and make sure it’s “operating as efficiently as possible.” That means that Rie, in corporate speak, was being “relieved of her job responsibilities.”
After confirming that it was a company cut, Rie said, “I’m just a little confused because why put the listing on if you don’t have the budget for the role? Because I like uprooted my life to move over here, and now my job is getting eliminated after three months.”
The man delivering the bad news clarified, “At the time of the hiring, that was not part of the strategy.”
Rie went on to clarify that it wasn’t a decision based on her performance. While it was not, that does little to soothe the balm of unexpectedly being laid off.
@theritzyrie pov: moved for a job only to get fired 3 months later #fired #jobeliminated #fyp #zoom #jobless #unemployed ♬ original sound – Rie
Commenters reacted.
One assured, “Something is better for you out there.”
Another revealed, “This happened to me two weeks after I moved. Best thing that happened,” adding, “Got a better job [with] more money with nice people. The grass is always greener.”
Someone wondered, “Sorry, how did you know to record this and that you were going to be fired in this call?”
A few people chimed in to say that when you get an unscheduled call from human resources, you just sort of know. As one put it, “Most realize whats gonna happen when a random meeting with HR shows up on their calendar lol.”
“The worst is getting laid off and then seeing your role reposted a couple months later,” one opined. The Daily Dot recently reported that’s becoming all too common for tech companies lately.
Another commenter marveled, “He’s reading a script?!”
That started a debate where some contended that he wasn’t. However, one weighed in definitively with, “My proof is being part of 12 layoffs. Script is to limit liability. Absolutely a script.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Rie via TikTok direct message.
