Better. com’s CEO, Vishal Garg, became the target of criticism arrows after firing 900 employees by holding a 3-minute Zoom call. “We’re all looking back, waiting to be fired next,” one of the employees later said.
The company’s board of directors sent an email to its employees on Friday, announcing that Garg was taking leave. It was also stated that during this interim period, Kevin Ryan, as CFO, will manage the company’s daily decisions and report to the Board.
The company, which has also commissioned an independent firm to evaluate internal leadership and corporate culture, said in the message: “The recommendations of this evaluation will be taken into account in order to create a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better. We have a lot of work to do and we hope everyone can focus on our customers again and have a great time.” They can support each other to continue being a company,” he said.
Company Employee Spoken: He Said You Are Lucky
A person who continues to work at the company, without giving his name, told Business Insider what happened:
- Better. com CEO Vishal Garg called the rest of us for a meeting after firing my 900 colleague. “You are the lucky ones,” he told us. Garg said the people he fired were underperforming, and then he set the bar even higher for those who stayed, telling us it was time to work harder than before. That was pretty scary to hear from someone who just laid off 900 jobs. It wasn’t the first time I’ve been at a company that has experienced layoffs, but this one was different. There was absolutely no warning, and then Garg belittled the laid-off workers and said there would be no second chances after that. Everything was demoralizing. Everyone’s been nervous since the layoffs. We’re all looking back, waiting for the next dismissal. It’s not a healthy environment.
- Our managers assure us that there will be no more layoffs, but how can we trust them after 900 of our colleagues have been fired? They shouldn’t be making statements to us after such a period of turmoil.
- I feel that the reason for the layoffs is overemployment. This is more of a leadership mistake in my opinion. But instead of holding these people accountable, they fire people in lower positions.
RECEIVED 750 MILLION DOLLARS FROM INVESTORS
- Everything was even weirder because Better received $750 million from investors.
- Even though we are glad that the rest of us were not fired, the environment is not the same as before. Ninety percent of the people I talk to have found another job or are about to quit. For my part. . . It must be the right opportunity for me to move on because I gave up a lot for this job and moved to a new city.
- Our morale is very low right now. There’s just so much insecurity and pain. The managers are trying to keep the ship afloat, but it feels like it’s going to sink.
- I feel a little more hopeful with the news that Garg is “taking permission” after this mess. If he leaves, if the right person replaces him, it feels like we can get out of here.
- It’s really hard to regain trust for a young company. A lot of things have to go right for Better to survive. This may damage our reputation. But I think our reputation is repairable if Garg is gone.
- Although I am still working there, I had interviews for other positions. I want to be prepared for the possibility of more layoffs next month.
- Our moods have risen a bit since Garg’s clearance was announced, but everyone is still scared. I know many of the layoffs. They were not lazy or inefficient.
900 PEOPLE FIRED IN 3 MINUTES
The New York-based online mortgage lender better. com’s CEO, Garg, fired 900 people with a 3-minute Zoom meeting. Announcing the news that about 15 percent of the company has been laid off, calmly announcing at the last-minute meeting that lasted for three minutes, CEO Vishal Garg said, “If you receive this call, you are part of the unlucky group to be fired. Your job at this workplace has been terminated as of now.” In the images that went viral on social media, Garg advocated “The market has changed”, but did not mention the company’s $750 million investment backed by a Japanese bank.
- fired 900 people on Zoom in 3 minutes
- The big scandal brought an end!
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