Why this US-based company fired 150 employees from its India Engineering Center in a surprise 9pm meeting

• Hy-Vee closed its India engineering center, impacting around 150 employees.
• Layoffs were announced during a surprise 9 PM Microsoft Teams call.
• Employees say the entire engineering team was eliminated overnight.
• Reports claim there was no severance or exit package offered.
• The move is part of a broader restructuring by the US-based company.

A sudden restructuring decision by US-based retail company Hy-Vee has led to the shutdown of its India engineering center, leaving around 150 employees without jobs after what staff described as a surprise late-night video call.

According to employee accounts shared on social media, the entire engineering team in India was informed during a 9 PM Microsoft Teams meeting that their roles were being eliminated. The announcement reportedly came without prior warning, leaving many workers shocked.

“Around 150 members of our engineering team were invited to a 9 PM Microsoft Teams call, where we were informed that our team was being shut down as part of a restructuring. The news came completely out of the blue,” one employee wrote in a Reddit post describing the incident.

The employee further said that the decision affected the entire engineering unit, including staff who had joined the company as interns and transitioned into full-time roles after nearly two years of work experience.

What has drawn additional attention is the claim that employees were not offered severance packages. “What made the situation even harder was that there was no severance or layoff package. One meeting, and it was over,” the post said.

Hy-Vee is a US-based employee-owned grocery retailer headquartered in Iowa. In recent years, the company has expanded its digital and engineering operations to support e-commerce, logistics, and retail technology systems. Its India engineering center was part of that global tech expansion, employing engineers focused on software development and platform support.

Following the layoffs, Amit Goel, who served as director of engineering for Hy-Vee’s India operations, confirmed the shutdown in a LinkedIn post. He said he was actively trying to help affected employees find new opportunities.

“Our Hy-Vee India center has shut down, and with immediate effect, some of the best engineers I've had the privilege of working with are now looking for their next opportunity,” Goel wrote.

He added that the team had been carefully built over months, hiring engineers from leading technology firms including Amazon and Myntra. He described them as strong professionals with valuable skills.

The layoffs have sparked debate online, particularly around the lack of severance and the abrupt nature of the communication. Some social media users questioned whether proper notice pay rules were followed, while others pointed out that global tech firms have increasingly been reducing offshore engineering roles due to cost pressures and shifting business priorities.

Hy-Vee has not publicly issued a detailed statement explaining the shutdown or addressing employee claims regarding severance.

Industry experts note that US companies have been increasingly restructuring global engineering teams as they focus on cost efficiency, automation, and consolidation of tech operations closer to headquarters.

The sudden closure of Hy-Vee’s India engineering center highlights the growing uncertainty in offshore tech roles, particularly in mid-sized US retail and service companies undergoing digital realignment.