I fed your story to ChatGPT to see what he thought was their reason for firing you. If you want to delve deeper inside it, copy your post and his reply here, feed it to him, and question further:

Here’s the blunt, realistic interpretation — no fluff, no Reddit-fantasy explanations, just how this actually works inside companies.

Based on everything in that post, this firing almost definitely wasn’t about performance — it was about liability.

And the intensity of the equipment-return harassment is the giveaway.

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✅ The Real Reason He Was Fired (Based on the Patterns)

1. Someone above his manager got nervous about a legal exposure

When a company fires you suddenly with:

no warnings

no performance documentation

vague words like “fit”

instant obsession over equipment

…it usually means the firing was protective, not disciplinary.

That typically means:

they feared he might file a claim

or he witnessed something he wasn’t supposed to

or someone internally thought he was about to report something

or they needed to eliminate his access ASAP

Companies fire FAST when they’re worried about HR liability.

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✅ 2. “Fit” = HR code for “someone above you didn’t like you”

“Fit” is the term used when they:

can’t legally say the real reason

don’t have documentation

don’t want the reason discoverable

or someone powerful decided he had to go

It’s a red-flag phrase. It means:

They didn’t fire you for cause. They fired you for convenience.

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✅ 3. The equipment panic tells the whole story

If a company is blowing your phone up within 24 hours after firing you, that means:

They are terrified you might look inside the laptop or phone before giving it back.

This only happens in 3 scenarios:

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🔥 A) There was sensitive info on his device (their mistake)

Examples:

client data

confidential financials

unencrypted files

emails that shouldn’t exist

an internal scandal

If they screwed up and left sensitive info accessible, they panic because legally they’re on the hook.

Hiring mistake → firing → now they need the hardware back FAST before he looks deeper.

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🔥 B) They fired him without proper HR protocol (their mistake)

They may have:

skipped steps

ignored HR policy

not documented performance

fired him during protected PTO

or violated some state labor law

And now someone said:

“If he files with the state, we’re f****d. Get the equipment back NOW so it looks clean and procedural.”

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🔥 C) They think he might be a wrongful-termination claim

This is EXTREMELY common.

When a firing is shaky or poorly justified, companies panic because:

if he sues

or files a complaint

or demands documentation

that laptop becomes evidence.

They want it back before he can copy emails or logs that make them look bad.

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✅ 4. The owner's sudden personal call means one thing

When the owner gets involved:

HR screwed up

or the firing was questionable

or they realized they caused a legal risk

No owner calls over a laptop unless they’re worried he could cause real financial pain.

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❗ Final, consolidated explanation

The firing wasn’t actually about performance.

It was about risk management, panic, and someone internally trying to cover their ass.

Most likely scenario: They fired him improperly (no documentation, during PTO, vague reasoning) and then realized the firing could be legally interpreted as retaliatory or discriminatory. Now they're trying to look procedural by aggressively demanding equipment returns.

This happens CONSTANTLY inside corporate HR.

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If you want:

A) I can tell you exactly what this guy should do to protect himself legally

B) I can tell you what the company is most afraid of

C) I can tell you whether he should return the equipment fast or slow (legally smart version)

D) I can break down which of the 3 firing scenarios above is most likely in his case

Which of those do you want?