The chief executive of a U.S.-based digital mortgage lending company sacked 900 employees via Zoom meeting, reports said Tuesday.
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg stated the company is cutting off roughly 10% of its personnel, unexpectedly alerting staff on the call they were being laid off just before the Yuletide season.
Garg has come under fire following the mass firing.
"If you're on this call, you're part of the unfortunate group that's getting laid off," Garg stated during the call, which was then shared on social media.
Social media users expressed outrage about the termination, calling it "brutal" and "a horrible move," especially in the run-up to Christmas.
The CEO opened the announcement by stating that the market had shifted and the company needed to adapt to stay afloat.
"This is not news you want to hear. However, it was ultimately my decision, and I wanted you to hear it directly from me," he stated.
"It's been an extremely difficult decision to make. This is the second time in my career that I'm doing this, and I despise it. I cried the last time I did it," Garg explained.
Garg attributed the mass layoffs to market efficiency, productivity, and performance.
"Having to fire employees is extremely difficult, particularly at this time of year," Better.com Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ryan told CNN Business.
Garg later claimed in an interview with Fortune that the employees were "stealing" from their colleagues and clients by being unproductive and working barely two hours a day.
Better.com, which seeks to make the home-buying process "simpler and more efficient" through the use of technology, is financed by Japanese corporation Softbank and is valued at over $6 billion.
Garg stated that all laid-off employees in the United States would receive four weeks of severance compensation, one month of full benefits, and two months of cover-up insurance for which the firm would pay the fee.
According to reports, members of the company's diversity, equality, and inclusion recruiting team were among those let go.
A number of video clips from the Zoom call have been circulated on social media, and in one of them, an unseen spectator - who appears to be a corporate employee - can be heard expressing disbelief at the statement.
Garg's managerial style has been criticized previously, following the publication by Forbes of an email he wrote to colleagues in 2020.
"You are WAY TOO SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS... SO STOP IT. STOP IMMEDIATELY. YOU ARE HUMILIATING ME," Gard stated in an email.
