Better.com CEO explains why he fired 900 people
About 900 employees of Better.com learned they had been laid off in an abruptly-scheduled three-minute group Zoom call weeks before Christmas.
According to a recording of the call posted to TikTok, CEO Vishal Garg said at the beginning of the December 1 meeting that he came to you with not great news.
He said that about 15 percent of the company was laid off for a number of reasons - market efficiency and performances, and productivity.
Garg said that if you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment with us is terminated immediately. He told employees that the decision to let them go was challenging. This is the second time in my career that I am doing this, and I do not want to do this. The last time I did it, I cried, Garg said. I hope to be stronger this time. He told the hundreds of former employees that they would receive about a month of pay and three months of benefits — all of which would be detailed in an email from human resources sent to their personal email addresses.
An employee who was laid off that day said his company-issued computer went dark shortly after the call ended. I was sitting here thinking : What the hell is it? The employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, told NBC News.
He said I thought I was safe. I was a great part of the team and thought I was an integral part of the team. It looks like I wasted my time because I know I worked really hard to build up that company. The way in which Garg chose to fire hundreds of people was jarring, the former employee said.
He said that he seemed like he could have a better way to go about it. Maybe in individual rooms with HR people. Better.com plans to go public in May, but the deal was delayed.
A day before the layoffs, the company received $750 million in cash infusion from its backers, Fortune and TechCrunch reported.
An employee who was laid off said it was an indication that the company needed capital urgently. He said that he said that it was not good no matter how they spin it.
In a statement sent to other news outlets, Kevin Smith, the company's chief financial officer, framed the cash advance and layoffs as a company win.
A fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce all set us up to play offense in a radically changing homeownership market, he said.
According to Better.com, Garg founded the company in 2014 with the goal of re-engineering the mortgage process. Garg wanted to make home buying easier, faster, and less expensive.
Better is based in New York and has additional offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, Oakland and Irvine, California and Gurgaon, India.