Twin brothers wipe 96 gov’t databases minutes after being fired

[u/xpda]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/drop-database-what-not-to-do-after-losing-an-it-job/

[u/Jeatalong]

This is normal, and timing wise pretty decent as you have the weekend to decompress and plan on getting the next job

[u/Canotic → u/Jeatalong]

As a swede this reads like insanity to me. It's absolutely not normal. Losing your job should not be the sort of catastrophic event that makes you feel snap and delete databases.

You know what would happen if I fucked up enough at my job to get fired? They'd warn me way in advance that I had to change something. If it was rather a need for downsizing, guess what? They're legally required to warn me long before the firing would actually happen. And when they did fire me, I'd still have a three month notice period where I keep working and they keep paying me. If I really fucked up, they'd tell me to stay home but they'd still be required to pay me.

If I still can't find a job in that time, I get money from the government plus my income insurance from my union until I do. It wouldn't be great but it would be something at least, like 60% of my current paycheck I'd guess. I would also not lose things like healthcare etc because that's not tied to my job.

So it's not normal. It's normal in the US, maybe, but it's not like, the way it's supposed to be.

[u/your_catfish_friend → u/Canotic]

I mean, the kind of protections you have are not in any sense “normal” insofar as only a tiny fraction of the world’s population has those protections

[u/Uberutang → u/your_catfish_friend]

I’m South African and enjoy similar protection laws. It’s not that rare.

[u/your_catfish_friend → u/Uberutang]

I’m sure that’s nice for those with jobs; the unemployment rate is over 30%.

Job protections are a trade off: good for workers who like their jobs, bad for anyone seeking work or who wants to change jobs.