I knew I was getting laid off — so I wore pink wig, drank wine

2022-09-03 02:42:22 By : Ms. Lin Lin

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He turned his layoff into a slay-off.

Isaac Moran, a recruiter and an actor, slipped on a bubble gum-pink wig and poured himself a nearly full glass of Pinot Grigio last Thursday for a Google Hangouts work meeting — a call informing him he was being laid off.

Moran, who until that day worked for the real estate brokerage Compass, appeared on the three-way video call with a human resources representative and his department head with not only that pink-headed look, but also with an image of it set behind him as the background.

“How’s it going?” Moran asks with cheer in a video that he recorded of the call and subsequently posted to TikTok, where it’s gone viral — so far receiving one million views.

The caption reads, “When you get laid off … but you have a BFA,” the latter of which is Moran’s bachelor’sof fine arts degree from attending theater school in New York. (He continues to act on the side.)

“I felt, ‘I’m getting laid off, so what are they gonna do?’ Why not go out with a little bit of style, I guess,” Moran told The Post.

“I have some difficult news to share,” the department head says in the 39-second clip while Moran listens and sips his wine. “Unfortunately, based on the actions that the company needs to take with where the market is headed, your role is one that is impacted.”

As that last line is delivered informing him his position is being eliminated, Moran twirls a long strand of pink wig hair before the news makes him bury his head in his hands and shake his head theatrically from side to side. That gesture makes the other two callers smile wide at the end of the TikTok clip, which is Moran’s sole upload on the app.

Moran says he knew the layoff call was coming and had been anticipating it for a week — and that’s part of the reason why he put on his brief video-call act.

“I think humor is definitely a coping mechanism for me,” Moran told The Post. “I think if I’m making myself laugh, that tends to make other folks laugh.”

But Moran chose that get-up also to cheer up the other two people on the call, given it was an expected delivery of bad news. Before it, he even considered doing a karaoke routine to break the ice, but ultimately settled on “a fine balance.”

“We had the entire team being let go, and each of us were receiving separate 15-minute interviews — and I know the folks on the call had to do the same spiel over and over again,” Moran added. “So I wanted to, for myself, make myself laugh, make everybody laugh, and … hopefully, turn something that was essentially a pile of garbage and a hot dumpster fire into something that’s a little bit funny or rewatchable.”

It’s since become very rewatchable, with 37,000 likes and nearly 2,100 shares — as well as hundreds of supportive comments.

“The best coworker you could ever have,” wrote one commenter, with another saying, “I’d have to make the executive decision to keep you after this.”

“I love every choice you made here,” responded another, while another commented, “What a great sense of humor at such a difficult time.”

Compass declined to comment to The Post about Moran’s viral video.

In June, according to Newsweek, Compass announced it would cut 10% of its staff, or some 450 employees. The company — which also lost $300 million in the first half of 2022, and has been hit hard by rising interest rates and slow-moving US home sales — is also reportedly planning another round of layoffs by the end of September.

Despite it all, Moran says he harbors no resentment toward his former company.

“They offered me a lot of services after the fact as far as job placement,” he said. “So definitely no hard feelings.”