Dan Munro changed his Twitter handle to "Dan is interviewing" after finding out he lost his job via a Zoom call.

The method of firing is becoming the norm in the tech industry during the coronavirus recession.

"No one enjoyed it," Munro said. "It was pretty rough for everyone because we're a pretty small company and everybody knows each other pretty well."

The startup Munro worked for, Alegion, an artificial intelligence company, announced that a third of its Austin-based office would be cut in a "resizing." Those affected would receive an email after the call, the company's founders said.

Munro, who is married with two children, was forced to put his home up for sale. As a software engineer, he knows his skills are in demand and he's quite certain of landing a job soon so he doesn't feel too sorry for himself.

"There are people who are suffering and are much less well off," Munro said. "I'm hoping, as a country, we can provide some care to those people."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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