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

Oct 26, 2025 05:15 pm CST

A 62-year-old Microsoft director with over 20 years of service experiences unexpected career disruption after being laid off during the company's restructuring. Joe Friend shares his journey from feeling betrayed to embracing semi-retirement, revealing how the layoff impacted his retirement plans and led him to reconsider his professional path outside of Big Tech.