Company’s CEO Informs Staff of Layoffs via Zoom Call
Last week, Vishal Garg, CEO of online mortgage company Better.com, gathered over 900 employees, around 9% of the total workforce, into a single Zoom video call. At the beginning of the call, Garg directly stated the purpose: everyone present was being let go.
During the call, Garg stated, “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”
Garg expressed reluctance, mentioning, “This is the second time in my career I’m doing this, and I do not want to do this. The last time I did it, I cried.” He also indicated that all affected employees would receive severance package details via email shortly.
According to reports from Fortune, Garg’s decision to lay off these employees was based on the company’s performance and productivity metrics. Allegedly, employees were only working around 2 hours a day, which Garg considered as “stealing” from both the company and its clients.
“If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” the CEO of https://t.co/bmtdxpWtto said during the call, as seen in a recording by CNN Business. https://t.co/IeyD9vQfVK
— CNN (@CNN) December 6, 2021
Kevin Ryan, CFO of Better.com, mentioned in a statement to CNN Business, “Having to conduct layoffs is gut-wrenching, especially this time of year. However, a strong financial position and a streamlined workforce position us well to advance in an ever-changing homeownership market.”
Garg has a reputation for displaying harsh behavior towards the workforce. A leaked email from Forbes last year quoted Garg referring to his staff as “dumb dolphins” and criticizing them for being “too slow,” warning that they might “get caught in nets and eaten by sharks.”
