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This Okta Sales Engineer got Laid Off and Decided to Go Out With a Bang

Former Okta sales engineer roasts the company on LinkedIn after getting laid off

Author

Nic
February 03, 2024

Last week Okta laid off roughly 7% of the company, and one employee didn’t go out quietly…

After a layoff, some people like to thank their former employer for the ‘experience’, but not this guy. He let it all out.

Check out the original post:

And here’s the full transcript of the post:

“Greetings LinkedIn Fam & Community! Today is my last day at Okta, wow! And just like any volatile relationship; in the end it’s better to separate and go your own way.

/* console.log('meta statement'); This is usually where people take the high-road after #layoffs and thank their company for the opportunity and how grateful they are to have worked there in the first place. */

Well... I am not one of those people lol. And I don't believe in that boomer logic.

For my three year tenure as a solutions/sales engineer at Okta I made President's Club twice (top 2% of all employees), pulled in tens of millions of $ in ARR, created and implemented a company-wide strategy (with enablement) for selling a specific SKU, and mentored and supported all my teammates with care and passion.

But I ain't even mad...In actuality I've been interviewing in my free time outside of work recently because the culture in the solutions engineering org (AMER) at Okta has become so toxic in the past year that I'm happy to say goodbye (Severance is nice!). Having to endure an onslaught of bias'd favoritism, nepotism, misogynist male leaders in roles of Sr. MGRs / DIRs / VPs, public casual racism, and a general lack of career development and little to none opportunities to grow and learn - I'm thinking hey, maybe this is actually positive for me.

So with all that said: I am open to work and new opportunities! Specifically job roles of Solutions Engineering, Solutions Consulting, and Sales Engineering. I am a hard worker, historical top performer, thought/team-leader, and someone that really appreciates companies with GOOD culture. All in all i'm a simple guy that likes to work hard, create impact, drive results, and vibe with the team.

So if you are a recruiter, a follower, or some anon that sees this somehow on their feed - I am open to DMs about any relevant roles!

/* console.log('one last petty statement'); if you have money then you should short Okta's stock and buy puts because that stock isn't going up any time soon 📉 Todd McKinnon 👎 you're a joke */

With love, -B

- Former Okta Solutions Engineer.

In B’s words, he decided against taking the high road on this one, and let us know exactly how he felt about working at Okta.

B claimed that he brought in $10’s of millions in ARR, and was a top 2% employee at the company. While all of these may be true (and I’d like to take his word for it), I don’t know of many sales reps who would tell you they weren’t a top performer.

In B’s case, I hope he got proof of his achievements that he can parlay into the next role. And speaking of the next role… it sounds like he was already ahead of the curve on that one.

He says he has already been interviewing with other companies in his free time since he was fed up with the ‘toxic’ work culture, but from the post, it sounds like he’s still on the hunt for a new role.

In the company memo announcing layoffs, the CEO, Todd Mckinnon, says that US employees affected by the layoffs will be given the following resources:

  • Severance: A minimum of 13 weeks of pay.

  • Healthcare: Benefits through June 30.

  • Bonus: Eligibility for the FY23 annual bonus or sales incentive.

  • RSU vesting: RSU vesting through March 15.

  • Career support: Career transition support.

  • Immigration support: Additional support for visa-dependent employees.

In comparison to what’s required by companies, and what is typically offered by other companies, these resources are pretty great.

In total, roughly 400 employees were affected by this round of layoffs, which equates to roughly 7% of the company.

You can read the official company memo regarding the layoffs here.