The Bengaluru techie was a top-ranking graduate from NIT and until recently held a job in Bengaluru with a ₹43.5 lakh per annum package.
A social media has stirred debate after it shared the story of a high-earning Bengaluru techie who was laid off despite a strong academic and professional record, raising questions about India’s lack of social safety nets for the salaried middle class.
The techie, identified only as Mr Salim in the post, was a top-ranking graduate from NIT and until recently held a job in Bengaluru with a ₹43.5 lakh per annum package. According to the X user Venkatesh Alla who shared the story, Salim was laid off last month with just three months of severance pay.
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Just got a message from Mr. Salim a topper from his NIT, working in Bangalore with a ₹43.5 LPA package laid off last month. The company handed him just 3 months’ severance.
Last year alone, he paid ₹11.22 lakhs in income tax. In just 5 years, over ₹30 lakhs gone into the…
— Venkatesh Alla (@venkat_fin9) June 29, 2025
In the message, Salim reportedly said he had paid over ₹30 lakh in income tax over the last five years, including ₹11.22 lakh just last year. Now unemployed, and without a home loan, he is relying on his severance and savings to fund his children’s education, ₹1.95 lakh per child, per year. The emotional toll has been steep, with the techie saying he felt “abandoned from every direction” and slipped into depression.
“The same government I paid lakhs to in taxes betrayed me the moment I needed it most,” Salim said in the message. He requested the X user not to reveal his identity.
The post, which has since gone viral, concluded with a strong critique of the Indian system: “This country desperately needs to change. Because right now, it’s failing the very people who carry it forward.”
Mixed reactions
The post sparked sharp reactions online, with users divided over what support, if any, should be expected from the government in such cases.
Some questioned the premise outright. “Can you tell me how many people laid off in Silicon Valley get direct government support?” one user asked. “Everyone pays taxes globally, but that doesn’t mean the government steps in for individual job losses.”
Others defended the tax system, arguing that high salaries are made possible by government-created infrastructure and stability. “Try getting ₹45 LPA in Gaza,” one user wrote. “We pay taxes for the system in which we earn our salaries. You can’t live a ₹90 LPA lifestyle on a ₹45 LPA income and then blame the state when things go wrong.”
Another pointed out, “This is the same everywhere in the world. The problem isn’t taxation, it’s the lack of long-term financial planning.”
Still, some users took the opportunity to call for broader reforms. “The only solution is to expand the tax base, bring more into the formal economy. Only then can we reduce the burden on the salaried middle class.”
Others, however, remained cynical about change, “Even if the current monsters are voted out, the next in line might be worse. One’s planning to snatch away my lifelong savings and redistribute it.”
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The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
