A healthy company doesn't mean a safe job
Earlier this month I was following the news about Oracle’s layoffs: 30,000 people.
The strange part is that the company is doing really well. It’s not struggling.
So if even a company that’s flush with money still lays people off, “healthy company = safe job” doesn’t work as a signal anymore.
I’m writing this while I rework the way I think about income.
Healthy isn’t the same as safe
The old logic of safety was simple: work at a healthy company, get a safe salary, have a safe life.
That logic isn’t relevant anymore.
Google is healthy. Microsoft is healthy. Meta is healthy. Oracle is healthy. All of them decided to lay people off.
Not because they’re sick. Because they want to get even healthier.
And the way they get healthier is to cut the most expensive thing on the balance sheet: people. Money that used to go to salaries now gets moved into AI investment.
It’s cold. But that’s how business works now.
So why would a profitable company lay people off? Simple: because it can.
Shareholders are happy. The stock price goes up. Costs go down. Only one side loses: the people sitting in the employee seats.
If my name were on the list
Here’s the question I’ve been asking myself these past few weeks: if my name shows up on the layoff list tomorrow, what do I have?
The salary stops. Then what?
The annual bonus doesn’t come through. Then what?
My office ID card gets taken away. Who am I then?
Uncomfortable questions. But they have to be answered before circumstances force you to.
I’m still an employee myself. My salary still comes in every month.
But the longer it goes, the more I realize that feeling safe is an illusion if there’s only one source.
It’s not that I hate my job. Quite the opposite. I’m happy with this job, and that’s exactly why I don’t want to depend on it completely.
The rules I play by now
During work hours, I’m fully professional. Finish my job description. Give it my best. Don’t steal time.
Outside work hours, I focus on myself. Learn new skills. Experiment with AI. Build something with your own name on it, not your company’s.
I try to keep both.
One pattern I want to avoid: professional at the office, but still thinking about the office after hours.
- Replying to WhatsApp at 10 p.m.
- Counting up the annual bonus.
- Replying in the office WhatsApp group on weekends.
That time outside the office gets used up on the office.
When layoff day comes, there’s nothing to fall back on but a reference letter. And a reference letter doesn’t pay the installments.
I don’t want you to overthink this. What I’m saying is: don’t put all your eggs in one basket you don’t hold the key to.
A side hustle. Content. Digital products. Freelancing. Building up skills you can sell without needing an office.
Anything. What matters is that there’s one thing outside your salary that you build yourself.
What I hold on to
Three things I hold on to now:
- Be loyal to a good company. But be loyal to yourself first.
- Being professional during work hours isn’t about chasing a position. It’s about your own standard of work.
- Outside work hours is the only time that’s 100% yours. Don’t give it back to someone else.
The Oracle layoffs aren’t some faraway story in America. They’re a gentle reminder for us.
A salary isn’t security. Skills you can take anywhere, that’s real security.