The chief executive of mortgage lender Better.com has apologized for firing nearly 900 Zoom employees last week, saying he “made a gross execution error.”
In a letter to employees on Tuesday, CEO Vishal Garg wrote that he did not show “due respect and appreciation” to those laid off. “This confused you,” he wrote in a letter posted on Better.com.
Garg announced by phone to Zoom last week that about 9 percent of staff would be laid off.
“This is the second time in my career that I’m doing this, and I don’t want – I don’t want to do it,” he said during a teleconference that was widely circulated on the Internet. “The last time I cried. This time I hope to be stronger. “
He said employees are being laid off for reasons including market reasons, productivity and productivity. “If you’re on this call, you’re part of a group of losers getting fired,” he said. “Your work here stops immediately.”
Better.com did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday or questions about Mr. Garg’s comments to staff.
Last week, following a call to Zoom, Mr. Garg told employees who were not fired in a separate call that he regretted not making any earlier layoffs, according to a manager who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. who was on the call and who left the company of their own free will. Mr. Garg said during this call that he will closely monitor the performance of those who remain and those who do not do the job will be fired.
As anger over the layoff announcement grew, Mr. Garg began responding to criticism in a series of posts on Blind’s online site under the nickname “uneducated,” Fortune reported last week.
“Do you guys know that at least 250 laid-off people worked an average of 2 hours a day, and in the payroll system 8 hours + a day?” He wrote. “They stole from you and stole from our clients, who pay the bills, who pay our bills. Get an education. “
Fortune said he later confirmed in interviews that he was the user behind the account.
In his letter of apology to employees on Tuesday, Mr. Garg said he was grateful for their accomplishments and acknowledged that the way he announced the layoffs made things worse. “I’m sorry, and I intend to learn from this situation and do more to be the leader you expect me to be,” he wrote.
Better.com, backed by SoftBank, is a mortgage lender for home buyers seeking rates, loans, and other resources, and is licensed to guarantee mortgage loans in 47 states and Washington, DC. The company’s mission is to make home ownership “easier, faster -” and most importantly, more accessible to all Americans, ”says its website.
SoftBank has struggled with some of its investments, including the rescue of WeWork, the office rental giant, when it withdrew its initial public offering in 2019 and found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. Better.com employees have previously complained about the toxic behavior of executives in the workplace.
WW International, the company formerly known as Weight Watchers, was also criticized last year for the Zoom-related mass layoffs.
