Microsoft Veteran Manager Laid Off After Two Decades: A Story of Career Disruption and Reinvention

A seasoned Microsoft manager expresses feelings of betrayal after discovering he was among dozens of employees terminated during company restructuring. Joe Friend, who served as a director of product management leading a team of nine, is now contemplating his future career path.

"It feels like a betrayal, and it impacts me financially," the 62-year-old revealed to Business Insider. "I wasn't entirely surprised by the layoffs. I was surprised to get caught up in them," he admitted.

Friend was one of 15 members in his working group, including four other managers, who were dismissed. Microsoft has eliminated approximately 15,000 positions over the past year as part of efforts to reduce management layers and optimize operations. Other technology giants, including Google, Intel, and Amazon, are similarly reducing managerial positions in what industry observers call the "Great Flattening."

The May layoff disrupted Friend's retirement strategy. He had planned to remain with Microsoft until at least his 65th birthday, a significant milestone that would have allowed most of his stock grants to continue vesting.

"My plan was to figure out what I wanted to do over the next three years," he explained. "Then all of a sudden I'm at the doorstep, and I have to make that decision now."

Friend initially joined Microsoft in 1994 as a lead program manager, working on Microsoft Word. In 1997, he relocated with his family to Indonesia to work for an international NGO. He returned to the United States in 2003, rejoined Microsoft, and remained for 14 years before departing in 2017 due to burnout. After a brief period at Stack Overflow, he returned to Microsoft in 2018.

"I was really impressed with what I saw as significant cultural change at the company and agreed to go back," he shared.

Following his termination, Friend received a "very comfortable" severance package and continued receiving paychecks until mid-July. He now considers himself "semi-retired" and focuses on assisting a young entrepreneur in building a small business.

"It's not about making money," he stated. "It's about supporting somebody who wants to transform their life."

Friend indicated he is unlikely to return to Big Tech, even if he pursues another role. "I think I'd rather earn $50,000 a year doing something I'm excited about," he remarked. "It doesn't mean I won't jump back into a job, but it certainly won't be Big Tech."