Companies sometimes miss the mark when it comes to telling employees they’re out of a job. From accidental goodbyes to surprise meetings, there are many strange ways biopharma professionals have learned about layoffs.
In a perfect world, biopharma employees would find out they were getting laid off in a straightforward manner—or would at least see the layoffs coming and be prepared for the news. That’s not always the case.
A July 15 Reddit post titled “I’m going to get laid off tomorrow” highlighted the issue. The poster, who didn’t name their employer, shared that when a co-worker requested time off, the HR application wouldn’t approve it, showing the employee as “terminated” at the end of the week.
“This prompted the entire office to check and I would say 95% of us are listed as terminated,” the Reddit poster wrote. “A handful of employees were spared. Within the hour HR became aware of what happened and disabled access altogether to our benefits. They sent email at the end of the day when everyone had left with a meeting invite tomorrow and instructed us not to come to the office. So obviously we are being laid off.”
Multiple commenters identified the company as Sarepta Therapeutics, which on July 16 announced it would cut about 500 employees following a strategic review.
In light of that story, BioSpace asked biopharma professionals to share the strangest ways they learned they were losing their jobs. We received dozens of responses via SurveyMonkey. These are some of their stories.
Accidental Goodbyes
Some biopharma professionals found out they were out of work by accident. One logged into their benefits portal and saw that they’d been terminated, a possible reference to the company referenced in the Reddit post. Another saw a leaked photo of a mass layoff list. Yet another heard the news from someone in an academic group associated with their employer’s founder.
Slack was another accidental communications tool for impending layoffs. “The C-suite people, who clearly lack of the training of using slack after 8 years, disclosed the RIF plan in a non-private C suite channel,” one person wrote in response to BioSpace’s survey.
As a result, many employees saw the plan months before the company announced job cuts.
Sudden Loss of Access
Some people found out they were getting let go when they lost access to employer resources.
“They de-activated my card access from our company suite while I was out of the company office going to the bathroom (our bathrooms are located in a shared leasing area),” one person shared. “I was locked out of the building after peeing since I couldn’t scan back in! It was mortifying.”
Another person’s employer began deactivating employees’ badges and network access one by one. “Security person and your manager would show up shortly thereafter and escort you directly out of the building, no goodbyes or packing up your things,” they wrote. “Once word got out, everyone spent the rest of the day testing their badges, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.”
At another company, time zone differences complicated the layoff process. At 7:30 a.m. Eastern, a Slack message went out to all employees, including those on the West Coast, that people being laid off would get an email soon and lose network access shortly after. When West Coast staff tried to log in for the day, those who’d been terminated were locked out.
‘Surprise, You’re Out’ Meetings
Multiple people learned about layoffs during what they thought were ordinary meetings. One found out at what they assumed was their biweekly one-on-one with their line manager.
“I was met with the department head and HR instead informing me that as of the meeting end my position was terminated and to log off immediately post meeting and to not speak to any other coworkers,” they wrote. “I was blindsided.”
Another person was asked to create a comprehensive strategy for their function and meet with the group head, where HR ambushed them. “Several of us above a certain level of seniority, cut,” they shared. “No further explanation. They kept all the materials tho.”
Surprise layoffs also happened at group meetings. At one person’s employer, employees showed up for a companywide meeting to see a slide telling them to go back to their desks and wait for their phones to ring.
“Sat and listened to everyone around me get a call and go get a folder from HR with the layoff packet,” they wrote. “Boss’ phone rang before mine so obviously I was soon after. Awkward for everyone and lengthy process.”
Awkward Goodbyes
A few people learned they lost their jobs with little or no direct communication. One read about layoffs in a news article months before the company announced the cuts. Another person’s work phone suddenly displayed a “phone is lost” message.
Contract workers also learned they were being eliminated in unexpected ways. One spotted multiple job listings on LinkedIn for their role but with a different title.
With biopharma layoffs increasing year over year—they rose 31% in the first half of 2025—there will most likely be more stories like the ones above, even at companies with experience letting employees go. Just ask the person whose employer messaged East and West Coast staff about imminent layoffs at 7:30 a.m. Eastern and shut off affected West Coast staff’s network access before they’d logged in. That was the company’s third workforce reduction in two years, the person wrote, “and they thought this was the best way to do it.”
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