'I cried at work, didn't feel like a leader': Mumbai founder recalls laying off 25 people

Founder and CEO Sampark Sachdeva said the layoffs were part of a larger organisational restructuring. (Image generated by AI)

A Mumbai-based founder has recently recalled how he felt while laying off 25 employees from the company. Calling it "one of the darkest days" in his corporate career, Sampark Sachdeva shared that he was asked to lay off the staff, back-to-back, without emotion or apology.

In a widely shared LinkedIn post, Sachdeva recounted the moment he had to deliver the words, “Today is your last day,” to a single mother seated across the table. “We were told to keep it cold. No emotion. No softening of the blow,” he wrote. “Just: ‘Submit your ID card and laptop. HR will reach out for formalities.’”

The layoffs were part of a larger organisational restructuring. Sachdeva clarified that he did not select the names, but was tasked with executing the decision. “Try telling that to a father of two. To someone who just took a home loan. To the girl who moved cities for this role,” he wrote.

‘Leadership is not just about making decisions’

Sachdeva said that while the employees were being fired, the words of one among them stayed with him: “Sir, you had hired me. You were here, so I stayed. Today, you are asking me to go, so I will go.” After the final conversation, Sachdeva said he stepped out and cried — for the first time at work.

“I didn’t feel like a leader. I felt like a number. A face delivering a system’s decision,” he wrote. “Corporate life teaches us resilience. But it must also teach us compassion.”

‘This hit me hard,’ say netizens

The post drew strong reactions from professionals across sectors on LinkedIn. “This hit me hard,” wrote Ransom Joseph. “Rarely do we speak about the weight leaders silently carry.” Rama Shankar Pandey recalled a similar experience during a factory closure, calling Sachdeva’s reflection “very human.”