Khaled Al-Sulaiman

Firing an Employee... Severing Lifelines!

13 July 2026 - 00:05 | Last updated 13 July 2026 - 00:05

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I thank God that I have never fired a single person in my life from their job. I have always believed that cutting off livelihoods is a difficult decision and cannot even be the last resort unless it is the result of a breach of trust. Granting opportunity after opportunity, along with evaluation, correction, and training, always suffices instead of making termination decisions!

I once complained to my superior about the laziness of one of the employees, and he coldly told me: "Fire him." I felt like a block of ice had been dropped on my head. Oh my God, how could he say it so easily, without considering the fate of that employee's family and their living obligations? I did not carry out his recommendation, and over time and with guidance, that employee's performance improved. In fact, I once lost my job because I refused to carry out a directive from upper management to fire some employees in my department. God compensated me for it, within just one week, with a job that paid double the salary!

The decision to lay off employees in some struggling institutions may be part of restructuring or getting rid of debts and financial burdens, and this is understandable. However, it becomes ugly when employees whose salaries are small compared to those in higher positions and their privileges are laid off. One bank, in an effort to address its declining profits, laid off dozens of employees with medium and small salaries while granting its CEO a bonus in the tens of millions, despite not achieving any success. The failure was placed on the small employees, while the one who made the decisions that led to the failure was rewarded!

I may be accused of being overly emotional, but it is cruel for companies and institutions to increase their profits at the expense of their workers' livelihoods. I once heard a billionaire bragging about reducing the number of employees in his companies, despite his astronomical profits that placed him on the lists of the wealthiest businessmen. It wouldn't hurt him to consider a portion of those profits as part of his responsibility towards society. In contrast, I know many noble wealthy businessmen who refused to reduce their employee numbers to compensate for declining profit margins. They look at the interests of these employees and their obligations with deep human feelings!

In short... unless the termination of an employee is the result of a breach of trust or financial incapacity, it is a severing of the lifelines!

I thank God that I have never fired a single person in my life from their job. I have always believed that cutting off livelihoods is a difficult decision and cannot even be the last resort unless it is the result of a breach of trust. Granting opportunity after opportunity, along with evaluation, correction, and training, always suffices instead of making termination decisions!

I once complained to my superior about the laziness of one of the employees, and he coldly told me: "Fire him." I felt like a block of ice had been dropped on my head. Oh my God, how could he say it so easily, without considering the fate of that employee's family and their living obligations? I did not carry out his recommendation, and over time and with guidance, that employee's performance improved. In fact, I once lost my job because I refused to carry out a directive from upper management to fire some employees in my department. God compensated me for it, within just one week, with a job that paid double the salary!

The decision to lay off employees in some struggling institutions may be part of restructuring or getting rid of debts and financial burdens, and this is understandable. However, it becomes ugly when employees whose salaries are small compared to those in higher positions and their privileges are laid off. One bank, in an effort to address its declining profits, laid off dozens of employees with medium and small salaries while granting its CEO a bonus in the tens of millions, despite not achieving any success. The failure was placed on the small employees, while the one who made the decisions that led to the failure was rewarded!

I may be accused of being overly emotional, but it is cruel for companies and institutions to increase their profits at the expense of their workers' livelihoods. I once heard a billionaire bragging about reducing the number of employees in his companies, despite his astronomical profits that placed him on the lists of the wealthiest businessmen. It wouldn't hurt him to consider a portion of those profits as part of his responsibility towards society. In contrast, I know many noble wealthy businessmen who refused to reduce their employee numbers to compensate for declining profit margins. They look at the interests of these employees and their obligations with deep human feelings!

In short... unless the termination of an employee is the result of a breach of trust or financial incapacity, it is a severing of the lifelines!