Boss Fires 900 Workers In Massive Video Call Weeks Before Christmas

Dec 11, 2021 by apost team

In a controversial move, the CEO of the online mortgage lender Better.com fired 900 employees in a video call just weeks before the holidays. Since the company’s CEO, Vishal Garg, made the decision in early December, he and the company have received significant backlash in the media, where the story has gone viral. 

Garg, who founded the company in 2016, laid off about 9% of the company’s workforce for what he described as “stealing” from the company and its customers by being unproductive, according to a Fortune report.

“You guys know that at least 250 of the people terminated were working an average of 2 hours a day while closing in 8 hours+ a day in the payroll system,” Garg wrote. “They were stealing from you and stealing from our customers who pay the bills that pay our bills.”

CNN Business also claims that Garg also cited market efficiency, performance and productivity to justify the massive layoff.

Garg fired the recruiting and diversity team, among many others.

This isn’t the first time Garg has attracted controversy. In November 2020, Forbes obtained an email in which the CEO berated employees, calling them “a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS.”

On Friday, Dec. 10, The Guardian reported that Garg apologized for failing “to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation” for his staff. An email from the company’s board of directors also stated that Garg would be “taking time off” from his role.

Garg has since posted an apology letter to the company’s website, and the company sent an email to employees calling the meeting “very regrettable.”

“I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you,” Garg wrote in the apology letter. “I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse. I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from this situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be.”

During the controversial video call, Garg abruptly told staffers that they were being terminated and that HR would inform them about potential severance packages.

"If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off," Garg said, according to a video obtained by CNN Business. "Your employment here is terminated effective immediately."

"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," Garg added on the call, though CNN reports that Garg was “emotionless” during the meeting.

After Garg fired a significant portion of his staff, he spoke to the company’s remaining staff, noting that their work and productivity would be watched.

“His tone was extremely harsh and threatening,” an anonymous Better.com employee told Fortune. 

Many members of the public were outraged by Garg’s actions. In response to a BBC news clip about the firing, YouTubers took time to criticize the CEO.

“Looks like the management didn't know how to run the company and blamed the workers, starting with their CEO,” one commenter wrote.

“It astounds me how employers can pull this move and get away with it. On the flip side, it is uncourteous if an employee quits without notice,” another viewer added.

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What do you think about Garg’s decision to fire 900 workers via video call? How would you have handled this situation? Let us know — and be sure to pass this story on.