900 US Workers Fired in Zoom Group Call

Social media users point to the cruelty of the way the layoffs were announced, while the CEO had previously been caught bullying his employees.

Vishal Garg, CEO of the American mortgage startup Better.com, announced in a Zoom group call that the company is laying off around 900 of its employees shortly before the Christmas holidays, reports «BBC Ukraine».

The call was later posted on social media, where the story has since been actively discussed.

Commentators have called the move a «cruel and terrible act», especially on the eve of Christmas.

«I cried the last time I did this», Vishal Garg told employees. «I wish the news were different. I wish we were thriving», he said this time, looking down at his papers.

Garg told employees that the reasons for laying off 15% of the company's staff were their performance and market conditions.

«Your employment is terminated. Effective immediately»

«Hi everyone, and thanks for joining. I have some not-so-good news for you. The market has changed, as you know, and we have to change with it if we want to survive, thrive and continue our mission», the company's director began his speech.

«This is not the news you would like to hear, but this was my decision, and I wanted you to hear it from me. This was a very difficult decision. I am taking this step for the second time in my life and I do not want to do it. The last time I did this, I cried. This time, I hope I will be stronger. But we are laying off 15% of the company's employees for a number of reasons: the market, efficiency and productivity.

If you are among those on this call, you are in the group that has been let go. Your employment is terminated. Effective immediately», Garg concluded.

«Compassion matters»

«Bad managers will fire people badly, whether in person or virtually», says Anne Francis of the UK's Institute of Management. «But the heartless manner in this case was only amplified by the fact that it happened online».

She adds: «Although during the pandemic we have to learn that compassion matters».

Better.com, which aims to use the latest technology so that the home-buying process is «faster and more efficient», previously announced plans to go public. The business Garg founded in 2016 is now valued at almost $7 billion.

But the way the company's head treated his employees, Anne Francis suggests, could affect Better.com's future.

Anne Francis
expert at the UK's Institute of Management

This business is focused on direct contact with customers, since the company offers home loans. I am sure that many potential customers will now think: «God, if they treat their employees like this, what could they do to their customers?

«I made a mistake»

After the scandalous layoffs at Better.com, Fortune magazine wrote that Garg had previously written an anonymous blog in which he accused employees of his firm of being ineffective and working two hours a day while claiming to work eight or more hours. He called this «stealing» from colleagues and clients.

People also recalled his email to employees, which Forbes made public last year.

Here is what the email said: «YOU ARE SO F***ING SLOW. You are a bunch of F***ING IDIOTS... SO STOP IT. STOP RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME».

Business Insider wrote that after laying off 900 employees, Garg held a «team meeting» with the remaining staff.

Among those laid off was the recruitment team responsible for diversity, equity and inclusion.

During the pandemic, Better.com kept hiring new workers. But later, Garg reportedly admitted: «We over-hired and let go of the wrong people. And in this we made a mistake. I made a mistake».