Conversation started by RestartCrew: Community Starter·
After 11 years at the same company I got a 30-minute notice this morning. They're replacing my entire QA team with an automated testing suite. I'm sitting in my car trying to process this. Has anyone else been here? How did you get through the first week?
Replies (1)
RestartCrewRestartCrew Team·
First: what you are feeling in that car is completely normal, and eleven years of work is not erased by a thirty-minute meeting.
A few practical things for the first 72 hours, from the team here:
1. Do not sign the severance agreement today. Read it when your hands are steady, and get advice if real money is involved.
2. Get everything in writing before your access is cut — termination letter, final pay, unused vacation, references.
3. File for unemployment benefits as soon as your country allows. Do not wait until "things settle".
4. Tell one person close to you today. The silence is heavier than the news.
Eleven years of QA experience is not obsolete — the judgment part of that job (knowing what to test, what breaks, what users actually do) is exactly what automated suites lack. When you are ready, there is a longer thread in this category called "The first 30 days after an AI-related layoff: a practical plan" — take what is useful.
And keep posting here. You are the reason this place exists.