Why was Tony Gardner fired in The Office? Season 3 storyline explored

The third season of The Office saw a shuffle in employees as characters shifted between the branches of Scranton and Stamford, while some even left. Among the latter was Tony Gardner, a salesman who came to the Scranton branch during the merge. Compared to working with Josh, who manages the Stamford branch, Tony finds working under Michael rather impossible.

On the show, Tony's character is a little on the heavier side, and he undergoes bullying and comments on his weight at the hands of Michael, who has time and again been proven as being insensitive to appearances and orientations. Michael passes comments on Tony's need to exercise, which exacerbates Tony's struggle in the new office as he finds it difficult to fit in well with the chaotic Scranton branch and Michael's antics.

His breaking point on the show was when Michael asked him to take part in a 'trust exercise' where Michael would lift him up and put him on a desk. Quite evidently, it becomes a difficult task due to his weight, and Tony gets uncomfortable with the whole incident and decides to quit on the spot. Not everyone can fit in well with the Scranton branch!

Why does Michael fire Tony instead? What are the circumstances that follow?

Michael's decision to fire Tony instead of accepting his resignation was an act of him asserting dominance over Tony and portraying the situation to be in his favor rather than it seeming like the situation got out of control and Tony had to leave.

This incident leads to a furious Jan, who often has to step in when conflicts occur at the Scranton branch (flashback to Michael's sexually suggestive comments in season 2 and his 'accidental' revelation of Oscar's sexuality in the same season).

Vice President of regional sales, Jan lets Michael know that his poor judgment in decision-making led to the company losing a lot of money as his firing of Tony meant that now the company would have to pay him severance pay; something they could have avoided if Michael would just have let Tony quit.

Michael's decision was also slightly directed by Dwight, who had previously suggested that Michael should fire one of the transferred people from Stamford.

The Scranton branch was already hitting financial lows, as downsizing has been a constant conversation in the office since the very first season, and the financial loss the company suffered at the hands of Michael's impulsiveness was emphasized by Jan on what it meant for Dundler Mifflin.

The Office is available to stream on Netflix.