India, Oct. 20 -- A techie who was laid off from Microsoft earlier this year has shared how she managed to land a new role at Meta, without going through the traditional application process. After 14 years, Deborah Hendersen was laid off in May from Microsoft's Xbox division, according to a report by Business Insider. She was among the 9,000 employees affected in a sweeping company-wide reduction.

Hendersen said speculation about the layoffs had been widespread internally. She said it eventually became the "worst-kept secret" that additional layoffs were coming, and that her team was likely to be affected.

"It wasn't so much like watching a car wreck," said the 45-year-old, who lives in Seattle. "It was more like you were in the car, kn...