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Lay-off Diary · Before

I Saw My Layoff Coming a Year Before It Happened

Nishant Gupta · 5 min read

Losing a job is the biggest fear in the salaried class. It hits harder at mid or senior level, because there are fewer openings at that level. Days become weeks, weeks become months, and desperation creeps in.

So how did I deal with it? The answer has two parts: what I did before losing my job, and what I did after. This post is about the before.

Reading the warning signs

I was 42 and had spent most of my career in IT. Over fifteen-plus years I noticed that very few people actually retire at 60 in this industry. Most take early retirement, start something of their own, or simply drop out. Long hours, poor work-life balance, stress and office politics take a toll on health and relationships.

Add wars, slowing economies, AI taking over tasks and layoffs at company after company, and I was sure many people would be out of a job before 50, whether they saw it coming or not. That pushed me to prepare for a layoff, or an early retirement I hadn't planned.

What I focused on

Three things: managing my money well, building income outside my job, and upskilling.

I was clear that I didn't want to live with debt. I closed my one and only loan, my home loan, in my early thirties, and put everything into savings after that. I also tried side businesses. I started Home Meal, a home-cooked meal service, and had to shut it down within a year when the funds ran out. I kept trying other things.

So when the layoff came, a few years earlier than I expected, it was a setback I could handle. I had no loans, a proper emergency fund, my own life and health insurance, and enough saved for the essentials: my children's education and my retirement. I also had a small income stream already running, my YouTube channel.

What this means for you

  • Read your company and your industry honestly. If you don't see many people over 50 where you work, you probably won't be there at 50 either. If the sector is growing but your company is struggling, move early; loyalty won't protect you. If both are struggling, make yourself hard to replace and make sure senior leaders know your work. If the sector is struggling but your company is doing well, stay alert, because cheaper new hires can put your role at risk.
  • Keep upskilling. Staying relevant is your best protection.
  • Try to be loan-free by 40. That's around when you reach senior roles with good pay, and when a replacement job at the same level gets hardest to find.
  • Build an emergency fund of 6 to 12 months, depending on how long it usually takes to find work in your field.
  • Buy your own life and health insurance. Corporate cover disappears the day your job does.
  • Start a second income now, ideally something you'd do even if nobody paid you yet. It can take months or years to earn from it. Don't give up.
  • Keep your family in the loop about how things are at work, so a layoff isn't a complete shock at home.

None of this makes a layoff painless. It does make it survivable. In the next post: the first weeks after losing the job.