On a Zoom webinar on Wednesday, CEO of Better.com, Vishal Garg stated the mortgage company is cutting off around 9% of its personnel, unexpectedly alerting more than 900 employees on the call that they would be laid off shortly before the holidays. The CEO and founder of the digital mortgage company, Garg was born in India and moved to the US with his family when he was 7 years old.
“If you’re on this call, you’re part of the unfortunate group that’s being laid off,” Garg said on the call, which CNN Business was able to listen to. “Your job with us has been terminated with immediate effect.”
Employees should receive an email from HR outlining benefits and severance packages, he said.
In a statement to CNN Business, CFO Kevin Ryan said, “Having to undertake layoffs is gut-wrenching, especially this time of year.” “However, a fortress balance sheet combined with a smaller, more focused workforce positions us to play offense in a rapidly changing homeownership market.”
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The firings, according to Garg, were due to market efficiency, performance, and productivity. Garg later accused the employees of “stealing” from their coworkers and clients by being inefficient and barely working two hours per day, according to Fortune.
“This is the second time I’ve done this in my career, and I don’t want to do it again. I sobbed the last time I did it “Garg stated during the call, which was brief and emotionless.
The diversity, equity, and inclusion recruiting staff were among those sacked.
The Softbank-backed mortgage lender launched its IPO via a SPAC in May and received $750 million in cash as part of the deal last week. The corporation expects to have a balance sheet of more than $1 billion. Garg has been in the news previously, as indicated by an email he sent to his team that Forbes obtained.
