By: Michael T

Michael T — Tue, 10 Nov 2026 00:22:27 +0000

Damn! As a Bellevue local for 25 years, I empathize but can’t imagine what it would be like with a new born. It’s only my wife and I. Seattle is expensive.
I got laid off from that insurance company with the stupid emu they paid millions for. And to make it worse, people got laid off after a third party consulting firm made a list of job titles that seemed duplicative. Like throwing darts at a wall. No performance evaluation. Why keep the team with 2 presidential performance awards when you can keep the cheaper employees with just a few write ups when AI will be used to replace and do the work. I was even scoping a project for an internal private LLM.
Now those left are scared to take time off, speak up, or “try and fail” just in case the next round is coming. I’m glad I don’t have to live with that.
3 years in January. More than 200 applications, only 3 interviews and a bunch of automated “thanks but no thanks” emails. I even went back to college for project management. Funny, at 52 it’s just showing up and doing the work. I got a 4.0 GPA.
The worst part is having experience and skill with technology, training, database design, and Microsoft products and NO ONE needs experience right now.
The silver lining is that we thought my wife would loose her job in 2020 so drastically restructured finances. Thankfully, that didn’t really happen but my surprise layoff wasn’t catastrophic.
Sorry to everyone. This feels like my dad’s inflations and recessions in 1981 or 1987. Don’t forget to play catch with your kids. They just think you’re on a long summer break. ;)

Comments on: The struggle to be unemployed: Life after a Redfin layoff

By: Michael T