The chief executive of a US-based digital mortgage lending company has recently fired 900 people on a Zoom call. This news has been hitting headlines and has been spreading across the internet for some houses now and it has shocked many people out there as 900 people have been fired out ahead of the holiday season, it has been reported.
According to some reports it is known that, about 15 percent of the company’s employees in the US and also the employees of India were abruptly laid off as part of the cost-cutting exercise. The video of the zoom call has been spreading across the internet for some while, with people reacting to it continuously on the social media platforms. In the video which has been spreading across the internet and has made everyone shocked, Vishal Garg, who is the head of Better.com, can be heard saying in the video call that reportedly took place last week. This recording of the call, which has not been verified, was firstly reported on YouTube.
In the video Vishal Garg can be heard saying that if the employees are the part of the call then they may be the part of an unlucky group who are being fired off. “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,” Mr Garg can be heard telling the employees.
It can be seen that he began the announcement by saying the market had changed, thus the company had to move with it in order to survive.
Mr Garg was also seen saying that this news was his decision and you wanted the employees to hear it from himself. He says that it was a really challenging decision for him to make. “This isn’t news you are going to want to hear. But ultimately, it was my decision and I wanted you to hear it from me. It’s been a really, really challenging decision to make. This is the second time in my career I’m doing this and I do not, do not want to do this. The last time I did it, I cried. This time I hope to be stronger,” Mr Garg said.
Mr Garg adds that the plant will lead 15% of the company. “We are laying off about 15 percent of the company,” he added. He said that market efficiency, productivity and performance were the reason for the mass layoffs.
The chief executive said all the US-based employees fired would get four weeks of severance, and also a month of full benefits and two months of coverup in addition to this, the company would pay the premium.
According to CNN Business reports, Members of the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion recruiting team were among those who were fired.
Many video clips of the video call are being shared on social media, and in one of them an unseen viewer, who seems to be an employee of the company, can be heard expressing their shock at the announcement.
“This is not real. Oh my god, I can’t believe this. This is not real. Oh no, this can’t be happening,” the person can be heard saying over the clip.
“Having to conduct layoffs is gut-wrenching, especially this time of year,” the company’s chief financial officer Kevin Ryan said in a statement to CNN Business.“However a fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce together set us up to play offence going into a radically evolving homeownership market,” Mr Ryan added.
Better.com was founded in 2016, and recently received $750m (£566m) in investments and is set to go public, and in addition to this, the company is preparing to have about $1 billion (£754m) on its balance sheet, according to the reports of CNN.
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Mr Garg who has reportedly been involved in controversy prior to last week’s incident. In a letter obtained by Forbes magazine in 2020, he wrote to staff: “You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS… SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME (sic)”.
