Inexperienced CEO Self-Destructs Courtesy Of His Own Ego When He Fires The Wrong Contract Employee
The new boss fires the wrong person, and someone has to pay. What's it going to be?
One bad hire decision can turn into a full-blown business disaster, especially when the person making it thinks they know everything. That is exactly what happened in a Reddit story about a logistics consultant, a family machine shop, and a new owner who underestimated the value of one employee.
The consultant had spent years improving production, securing patents, and helping keep the shop afloat through a long-term contract. Then the business changed hands during the pandemic, and the new boss started cutting jobs and benefits without understanding what the consultant actually did, or what those patents meant to the company.
That mistake set off a chain reaction the new owner never saw coming.
A Reddit user was given an ultimatum by his new boss: accept a huge decrease in his salary and lose all benefits or risk being unemployed.
Scott Graham (not the actual photo)He also went ahead to give the OP an ultimate offer: accept a huge decrease in salary and lose benefits or risk being fired. However, what the new boss neglected to consider was that his employee had filed two patents that were essential for the survival of the company.
The OP chose the latter option, but the boss was in for a big surprise. What happens next?
Well, stick around to read the entire story.
The OP made a post regarding how the boss's choice ultimately led the business into bankruptcy.
NotLagrange
Got a job years ago
NotLagrange
My first long-term contract
NotLagrange
Took a lot of time and work
NotLagrange
Giving the new boss a tour
NotLagrange
My contract negotiation
NotLagrange
Fast forwarding...
NotLagrange
Negotiating time
NotLagrange
The royalties deal
NotLagrange
The patent holder
NotLagrange
The first meeting
NotLagrange
Threatening to sue
NotLagrange
Looking for a replacement
NotLagrange
Later on, the author added an update stating that they chose to reach out to a few of the co-workers who remained to find out more about the plans of the new boss. The entrepreneur informed the OP's friend about the patent issue and stated that he was not particularly concerned, claiming he had previously dealt with restrictive complications.
It appears that the new boss had recruited a patent legal counselor to understand precisely what needed to be changed in the process to avoid infringement. In just a couple of days, the Reddit thread gathered over 11.6K upvotes and more than 300 comments from individuals appreciating the OP for remaining true to their standards.
This also echoes a WIBTA debate where a friend’s “investment advice” cost real money.
Production line patents
Broote
From the OP
NotLagrange (OP)
Alexander the Great
TellThemISaidHi
This was the nuclear option
CoderJoe1
Posts like this sustain me
Shibefield
How did you do it?
ConfigAlchemist
Whatever this says...
ZiggerTheNaut
It is really amazing
Unasked_for_advice
The literal legal keys to the kingdom
anonymousforever
Send him a friendly email
princeofthemist
The new boss misjudged his capabilities and lost clients, workers, and his entire business.
For more workplace blowups, see how a brother’s business refusal sparked a full-on family feud.
