A programmer with terminal mind most cancers was caught in Epic’s mass layoff, however CEO Tim Sweeney says the studio ‘will remedy the insurance coverage for them’

It is no secret that layoffs typically upend lives, however a specific ache level for staff in the US is that it is exceedingly frequent to solely have medical insurance via your employer. If a sudden layoff blindsides you, your protection goes together with your revenue. So it went with Mike Prinke, a technical author who labored at Epic for seven years—proper up till the studio laid off 1,000 individuals final week.

Prinke’s termination got here amid notably terrible circumstances: He is at the moment present process remedy for terminal mind most cancers. His spouse, Jenni Griffin, posted about their state of affairs on Fb in a plea to Epic or anybody who may assist. Epic’s put up saying the layoffs mentioned impacted workers would obtain paid healthcare protection for six months, however the nature of Prinke’s sickness means medical protection just isn’t their solely hurdle.

“Due to the layoff, we didn’t simply lose revenue—we misplaced his life insurance coverage. And since his situation is now thought-about a pre-existing situation, he cannot get new protection,” Griffin wrote. “As I face the truth of shedding my husband… I am additionally dealing with the truth of what kind of funeral/burial I can afford. How I’ll hold a roof over our heads. How I’ll defend our son and the life we constructed collectively. What’s going to occur to our canine.

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“I really imagine that if the individuals who made this determination understood the total human affect, they might not have supposed this end result. Mike isn’t just a quantity. He’s a father. A husband. An individual deeply liked.”

In an interview with Kotaku, Griffin mentioned Prinke’s situation was well-known inside the studio, as he had frequent appointments. A few of these included specialised remedies to stop reminiscence loss so he may preserve a excessive efficiency at his job.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney spoke about Prinke’s state of affairs on X, replying to a thread from a Fortnite information account which tagged him and requested “ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?” In his reply, Sweeney mentioned “Epic is in touch with the household and can remedy the insurance coverage for them.

“There’s excessive confidentiality round medical data and it was not an element on this layoff determination. Sorry to everybody for not recognizing this terribly painful state of affairs and dealing with it prematurely.”