He received a 100% salary hike and a salary of Rs 40 LPA. Yet, techie is far from pleased: ‘I think they are not telling…'

Instead of a layoff, he received great news: He had a 100% appraisal hike! But the news didn’t calm techie like he expected. He later shared his experience on the Developers India subreddit.

According to the employee, annual performance reviews and salary revisions were normally scheduled for June. This year, though, those plans were interrupted when management declared a large-scale workforce reduction. The organization, which employed around 140 people, dismissed nearly 40 staff members in a single day. The abrupt decision stunned everyone, creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty throughout the office.

After witnessing so many colleagues lose their positions, the remaining employees stopped expecting salary revisions altogether. Most believed simply keeping their jobs was reason enough to feel fortunate. With layoffs dominating conversations, discussions about promotions and pay raises disappeared completely as employees focused on surviving the crisis.


Then, without any warning, the engineer received an email informing him that he had been promoted and awarded a remarkable 100 percent salary increase. His revised compensation package reached ₹40 lakh per annum. Confused by the announcement, he soon received a call from his manager, who explained that the exceptional reward was linked to an artificial intelligence project he had independently developed for the company during weekends. The project, an AI-powered chatbot created using Claude, had impressed senior leadership.

His manager further revealed that only two or three employees across the organization had received similarly significant raises, while many others had not received any increment at all. Because the atmosphere remained tense following the layoffs, few employees questioned the absence of salary hikes. The manager also instructed him to keep the promotion and pay increase confidential to avoid workplace complications.

The engineer described feeling overwhelmed with happiness. The achievement made him feel as though his career had reached a new high, and his parents were equally thrilled by the news.

Despite the celebration, he remained worried about the company's overall financial condition. The recent layoffs made him suspect that management might be hiding deeper business challenges, although he found it difficult to reconcile those concerns with the firm's strong portfolio of wealthy clients and its product-based business model.

Another concern centered on his future employability. With his salary now significantly higher, he feared switching companies would become more challenging. Although he was comfortable with system design and other technical concepts, he strongly disliked preparing for data structures and algorithms interviews, which are common in the technology industry. At his previous salary level, changing employers would have been much easier.

He also expressed genuine satisfaction with his current role, praising the excellent work-life balance and a supportive manager who never hesitated to approve leave requests. He admitted he had no desire to leave voluntarily and would be deeply disappointed if the company eventually failed.

The story generated considerable discussion online. One Reddit user advised him to begin preparing for artificial intelligence-focused positions, explaining that while no company could guarantee long-term stability, remaining competitive in the job market would provide confidence and better career options. Another commenter humorously suggested that such a generous salary package could one day become an excuse for the company to dismiss him during future cost-cutting measures.