Indian techie leaves job after 5 years to join startup, laid off in one month

An Indian data engineer left a company after 5 years to join a startup. Within one month, they were told that his services were no longer needed.A data engineer got laid off at a startup in less than one month after joining. (Representational image made with AI)The job market is in a tough state at the moment. Companies are leaning towards AI tools, resulting in widespread layoffs, particularly in the tech industry. So much so, that one startup laid off a techie just a month after they joined.The techie, who goes by the handle Less_Sir1465, shared the post on the subreddit DevelopersIndia. They explained that they worked as a data engineer. The techie said that they had left their previous company after 5 years to join a startup. But things took a turn for the worse in less than a month due to budget issues.“Unfortunately, within a month of joining, I was told that the project/client situation had changed and that there were budget constraints. I was essentially left without a project and was asked to resign,” they wrote. “I’m in a bit of shock.”Keep in mind that we are seeing layoffs on a large scale globally, and not just in India. For context, as per layoffs.fyi, 271 tech companies have cut over 1,26,000 jobs this year alone. In all of 2025, about 1,22,000 tech workers were laid off. Techie asks if they should go back to old companyWhile the market is in a tricky state, the techie had decided to make the switch from a relatively stable job, something that made matters worse. “The frustrating part is that I left a relatively stable job after 5 years, and this happened almost immediately after making the move,” they added. A screenshot of the Reddit post. As part of the layoff, the person said they received about 3 months of pay as severance. Now, the data engineer asked other Reddit users whether they should try to go back to their old company or look for a new job. The person asked, “Would going back to my previous employer look bad or hurt my career?Under the post, one user claimed that they had gone through something similar during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was 6 months at a new company and the project got cancelled during Covid and layoffs,” the user commented. “I went back to my old company. I provided enough value there that they went ahead and helped me with making all my past 6months look like sabbatical for skilling and on papers it's totally clear.” One person said that they went through something similar. Another person claimed that they fear that they may find themselves in a similar situation if they change jobs. They wrote, “I have the same fear, my current job is very stable. But after switching this can change.” Some feared that they may end up in a similar situation if they switch jobs. One Redditor said that they were facing a dilemma too. “In a stable job but a late stage startup giving a good hike but I kind of fear joining the same,” they wrote. “High pay plus high risk vs. Stability. That's the moot question I am dealing with.”To give you some context about the job market, according to Xpheno’s Active Tech Jobs Outlook report, there are 1,09,000 active tech jobs available in August this year. Back in March, this number stood at 1,19,000. Though, it has improved from the 93,000 available tech jobs in June. Recently, a computer science graduate claimed that they failed to get a new job despite sending over 700 applications.- EndsPublished By: Armaan AgarwalPublished On: Aug 17, 2026 15:53 IST