Singapore worker says layoffs left him questioning the promise of stability for locals

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean worker is questioning what protections locals really have after he and most of the Singaporeans in his team were recently laid off.

In a post on the r/asksg forum on Wednesday (May 20), the employee said he had been working at a big tech company since graduating about five years ago and was assigned to one of the backend teams, which, according to him, was made up of “half local, half foreigner from you know what country.”

Like many people his age, he said he genuinely believed he was set for life. After all, he had followed what society told him to do, which was to study hard, do things well, keep his head down, and deliver results.

However, after being blindsided by the layoff news, he admitted he no longer knows what to believe.

“I don’t know what to feel anymore,” he said. “What bothers me most is looking around my team and realising that almost every Singaporean on my side got cut.”

“Some of us were fresh grads who spent years building our careers here. One colleague literally just started a family and recently committed to a BTO. Another was supporting ageing parents. We are just normal Singaporeans trying to build stable lives here.”

Feeling somewhat betrayed by the system, he asked: “What exactly is the Singaporean worker being protected for? They promised us that we would be protected; that’s how they get votes. But is that what is really happening?”

“And before anyone says ‘just upskill’, many of us already did everything right. Good schools, good internships, long hours. I don’t know what the answer is anymore, but I know a lot more locals are feeling this quietly than people realise.”

“It’s not something new, especially in the current market”

In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor said situations like this are exactly why more locals have become “cynical” about the supposed path to success.

“Locals are told to study hard, upskill, serve NS, buy BTO, support parents, and trust the system. Then, when layoffs come, they suddenly discover the company’s loyalty is to cost, headcount politics, and global manpower flexibility. No need to blame individual foreigners. The real anger should be at the policy and corporate structure that lets companies take Singapore’s benefits while treating Singaporeans as optional.”

Another stated, “The writing was on the wall for the past few years. Many tech jobs here will likely be gone in a decade.”

A third Redditor shared a similar view, saying, “Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, AI is coming for lots of jobs that were previously immune to layoffs, especially in tech and other white-collar functions such as finance, legal, analytics, etc.”

They added, “As to why an employer would selectively terminate Singaporeans and spare the others baffles me, especially a big tech company that is very careful in ensuring it does not violate any laws, DEI, or other parameters. If you see a pattern, then it may be worth notifying the authorities.”

Not everyone in the discussion, however, sympathised with the original poster’s frustration.

Some commenters urged him not to dwell too much on the retrenchment.

One said, “Everyone gets laid off at least once in their life, everyone. Only those super lucky people never face it. This is a fact of life. You can do everything right and still get laid off. I would advise you to get your head on straight and stop feeling sorry for yourself. You will go down dark roads that will be very difficult to recover from.”

Another wrote, “Getting laid off the first time, you would feel angry and resentful. But do note that it’s not something new, especially in the current market. I came across a person who got laid off three times in a row. These are uncontrollable circumstances, so don’t harp on it. Move on to something new and hopefully better.”

In other news, a Singaporean woman shared on social media that she ended up creating a detailed 3D sunlight simulation of her future home after her family and friends became unusually concerned about how much sunlight the unit would receive throughout the day.

Posting on Reddit’s AskSingapore forum on Friday (May 15), the woman said that after she and her partner secured a unit, people around them began asking highly specific questions about its lighting conditions, such as how many hours of sunlight the flat would get, which rooms would receive the strongest natural light, what time the sun would hit certain areas of the home, and even which exact direction the unit was facing.

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