Amazon India staffer sacked after 5-year stint: 'First I lost my dad, then my job'

Omprakash Sharma was a senior software developer with Amazon India. (Image credit: LinkedIn)

As Amazon began its mass layoffs in India, many professionals took to social media to share how the job loss affected them, and to look for new opportunities. Among them is a Gurugram-based software engineer who, after having worked for Amazon for five years, lost his job only months after he lost his father.

In a LinkedIn post, senior development engineer Omprakash Sharma wrote: "Year 2022 has been the most challenging year of my life. I lost my father, after he struggled two to three months in ICU, due to which I was off from work for almost four months. On January 11, I was impacted by the recent layoffs done by Amazon."

Sharma said that his five-year stint at Amazon had been the "most wonderful time" of his professional and that he enjoyed every bit of it while working with some of the smartest minds in the industry. But while, he said he was thankful for their support, he needed help now.

"I need a little help from you, please spread the word around so that I get the right opportunity," Sharma wrote on LinkedIn. He also tried to motivate others who are facing the same situation. "For the folks who are in the same boat, while this is tough time, stay positive, stay motivated. These small interruptions in life won’t stop from moving forward, fight back and come back stronger," he wrote.

Amazon announced earlier this month that it planned to cut around 18,000 jobs, citing economic uncertainties and a hiring boom during the pandemic. It is expected to sack 1,000 employees in India this month.

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