Laid off from Amazon after 11 years, Indian-origin techie says daughter helped him cope: 'She inspired me'

Within weeks of losing his role, Virmani experienced a further personal setback when his father died.

After more than a decade at Amazon, Hemant Virmani said his professional routine came to an abrupt halt when he received an unexpected redundancy notice in October 2025.

For 11 and a half years, the Washington-based senior software development manager said the company had shaped his daily life — from meetings and product discussions to managing teams. The message informing him of his dismissal arrived in the middle of the night.

“I watched my team members get laid off in 2023, and I know how difficult it is,” he told Business Insider in an as-told-to account. “Still, when I received an email in the middle of the night in October 2025 saying I’d been laid off from my senior software development manager position, I was shocked.”

Virmani said there is “no right or easy way” to conduct redundancies. However, he noted that when it happens personally, it feels different, even if one understands the wider business context.

“The morning after my layoff, I had a mandated 30-minute meeting with my manager, and it actually went very well,” he said. “We talked about the layoff, and he offered me support. He delivered it all to me in a very positive, human way, and it was really affirming.”

Despite the outcome, he spoke positively about his years at the company. “I loved my time at Amazon, and I really feel as though it’s a place for exceptional people. The number of quality brains in the office, throwing around ideas and solving a custom problem, was amazing.”

In the immediate aftermath, he acknowledged feeling emotionally tied to what had happened. “I felt attached to the layoff,” he said, explaining that the first few days were difficult. At the same time, he concluded that the situation was beyond his control. “I knew there was no way to control what happened — I could only control how I reacted to it.”

He drew strength from his daughter, who is in her final year of high school. The previous year, she had experienced what he described as an adverse episode that required recovery. Her approach influenced his own response.

“How she reacted in that difficult time inspired me,” he said. “Her mental model was: ‘Challenges don't have to keep me from showing up for myself or for others.’ Her positive attitude was an inspiration for me to do the same.”

“I kind of learned from her that I had to take this layoff with positivity, keep my cool, and focus on what was next,” he added.

Within weeks of losing his role, Virmani experienced a further personal setback when his father died. He travelled to India and spent around a month supporting his family. During that period, he also reflected on his professional direction and assisted his daughter with her university applications.

“It’s been a very refreshing change to think about what I want next in my engineering career,” he said. “I’m less focused on the size or name of the next company I work for, and more on what I’d be doing there.”

He said that while his former team had used artificial intelligence tools, his managerial responsibilities had limited his direct engagement. “My team at Amazon used some AI tools, so I’m familiar with some, but I was only able to spend a fraction of my workday using them,” he explained.

Now, he is investing time in strengthening those capabilities. “I want to be proactive, not reactive, about the AI skills I’ll need in the future.” He has begun building a personal AI project to gain practical experience rather than relying solely on oversight or theoretical knowledge.

Virmani has also adjusted his daily structure. Approximately half his time is devoted to learning and developing AI expertise, while the remainder is spent applying for head-of-engineering roles and reconnecting with professional contacts. He submits two to three applications each week.

In addition, he has prioritised physical wellbeing. He attends the gym four to five times weekly and intends to maintain the routine even after returning to full-time employment.

After announcing his redundancy on LinkedIn, he received messages from former colleagues, friends and acquaintances, including one person he had not spoken to in more than 25 years. Several of those conversations have already generated employment leads.

Although he admitted there are moments of uncertainty about when he will secure his next position, he believes the interval has allowed him to focus on family, health and professional development that had previously taken second place to work.

Offering guidance to others facing similar circumstances, he said: “Layoffs are not about you. It’s about an environment that is driving layoffs.” He added, “Now that this has happened, you can’t go back in the past and change it. Look forward to what you can do next. How you react is very important.”