Meet Microsoft employee who was laid off after 23 years of service, still continues to go to office, because of...

Microsoft has laid off thousands of employees this year as part of a large-scale company restructuring. In May alone, around 6,000 people lost their jobs. The job cuts have affected people across different departments, including some who had worked with the tech giant for decades.

One of those employees is Freddy Kristiansen, a 59-year-old former Principal Product Manager. He worked at Microsoft for 23 years and was let go in May. Despite the layoff, Kristiansen said he still goes to the office. In a conversation with Business Insider, he explained, “It might sound strange to show up at the office after being let go, but I still feel committed to the products, the people using them, and my colleagues.”

Kristiansen’s journey with Microsoft began in 2002 when the company acquired Navision, his former employer. Over the years, he held several roles and worked on many projects. His last major contribution was a tool called AL-Go for GitHub, which helps partners use DevOps in their daily work without needing to understand the technical complexities.

Since he is based in Denmark, Kristiansen is still officially an employee until the end of November due to local employment laws. “Under Danish law, employees who’ve been with a company for over nine years are entitled to a six-month notice period,” he said. Although he’s been relieved of his daily duties, he still has his office access card and company laptop. He will also receive three months of severance pay after his notice period ends.

Interestingly, the layoff came as a bit of a relief to Kristiansen. He said he had been thinking about moving on for a few years and had even asked, anonymously, if Microsoft would consider voluntary exits during a previous round of job cuts. “I’ve worked long hours for over a decade. Now that I’m nearing 60, I want to do work on my own terms,” he shared.