In today’s volatile job market, the fear of layoffs looms over many employees, even those with stellar performance records. One such employee recently shared his frustrating experience on Reddit, where he was laid off from a Bengaluru-based company due to a policy change.

The young software engineer, who holds an MCA degree after completing a BCA, revealed that his company had decided to hire only BTech Computer Science graduates for technical roles. He explained that financial constraints had prevented him from pursuing a BTech degree, despite his strong qualifications. “Last year, I joined the company with a 7 LPA package as an SDE, but was laid off when they changed their policy to hire only BTech CSE students,” he shared in his post.

The company justified the decision by citing its revised internal hiring policy, but the engineer’s post sparked widespread criticism of the rigid norms that seem to prioritize degrees over experience and skills. While the authenticity of the post could not be independently verified, it quickly gained traction on social media.

Netizens had mixed reactions. One user questioned the fairness of applying new rules to existing employees, while another suggested taking time off to upskill and target a better package. Yet another user expressed concern about the future of IT firms in India, calling it a bleak situation for workers in the industry.