Joe Friend, a director of product management at Microsoft, expressed feelings of betrayal after being laid off as part of the company’s restructuring. Friend, who had been with Microsoft for 20 years, was among 15 members of his group, including four other managers, who were let go. The layoffs disrupted his retirement plans, forcing him to reassess his future. Despite receiving a comfortable severance package, Friend has chosen to focus on helping a young entrepreneur build a small business and is unlikely to return to Big Tech in the future.