CEO who fired 900 on Zoom writes groveling apology letter to staff

CEO who fired 900 on Zoom writes groveling apology letter to staff
CEO who fired 900 on Zoom writes groveling apology letter to staff

Better.com's controversial CEO Vishal Garg, 43, apologized after facing rampant criticism for laying off 900 employees over a Zoom call last week

Better.com's controversial CEO Vishal Garg, 43, apologized after facing rampant criticism for laying off 900 employees over a Zoom call last week

The CEO of mortgage lender Better.com has issued a groveling apology after facing rampant criticism for laying off 900 employees over a Zoom call last week.   

'I want to apologize for the way I handled the layoffs last week,' Vishal Garg wrote in a letter addressed to employees and later posted on the company's website. 

'I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better.' 

'I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you,' he added.   

Garg, 43, on December 1 told nine percent of the company's workforce they were losing their jobs - then in a blog post attacked them for being so 'lazy' they effectively 'stole' from customers.   

He groveled as three of his top executives quit in the wake of the mass-firing, amid claims others are on the verge of resigning too. 

His letter continued: '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.'

'At Better, your dedication, focus and expertise are essential in the vital work we are doing to unlock the value, joy and opportunity of homeownership for our customers across the country.'

'I couldn’t be more grateful for all you are accomplishing for the customers we serve. We will talk more at our upcoming All Hands meeting about what to expect for the year ahead. I hope you’ll join me for the discussion.'

'We are also taking fast steps to make sure we are very transparent and aligned as a company on the goals for 2022, the metrics that matter most, and how we can all work together even better to serve our customers and achieve our mission.'

'I believe in you, I believe in Better, and I believe that working together we can make homeownership better together,' the letter concluded. 

'I want to apologize for the way I handled the layoffs last week,' a letter from Vishal Garg posted on the Better.com website read. 'I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better'

'I want to apologize for the way I handled the layoffs last week,' a letter from Vishal Garg posted on the Better.com website read. 'I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better'

Garg got rid of the company's entire diversity, equity and inclusion team, which deals with complaints about racism and sexism in the workplace and three senior executives have since voluntarily resigned.

The head of public relations, Tanya Gillogley; head of marketing, Melanie Hahn; and vice president of communications, Patrick Lenihan have all handed in their resignations, according to Insider.      

'This is a first wave of resignations, and the company expects more,' a source told The Daily Beast.  

Garg, 43, got rid of the company's entire diversity, equity and inclusion team, which deals with complaints about racism and sexism in the workplace. 

In his three-minute call, Garg told them bluntly: 'This isn't news that you're going to want to hear. 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.'

He said that the 'market has changed' - meaning savage cuts to the $7 billion company's workforce were needed to avert disaster. 

The vice president of communications, Patrick Lenihan, also resigned after the December 1 Zoom call

The vice president of communications, Patrick Lenihan, also resigned after the December 1 Zoom call

Tanya Gillogley, the head of PR, has quit after the Zoom firing

Melanie Hahn, head of marketing, also quit

Tanya Gillogley (left), the head of PR, and marketing chief Melanie Hahn (right) quit following the December 1 firings

Garg's apology to staff

Team —

I want to apologize for the way I handled the layoffs last week.

I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for individuals who are affected and for their contributions to Better.

I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.

I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse. I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from the situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be.

At Better, your dedication, focus and expertise are essential in the vital work we are doing to unlock the value, joy and opportunity of homeownership for our customers across the country. I couldn't be more grateful for all you are accomplishing for the customers we serve.

We will talk more at our upcoming All Hands meeting about what to expect for the year ahead. I hope you'll join me for the discussion. We are also taking fast steps to make sure we are very transparent and aligned as a company on the goals for 2022, the metrics that matter most, and how we all can work together even better to serve our customers and achieve our mission.

I believe in you, I believe in Better, and I believe that working together can make homeownership better together.

Thank you.

Advertisement

The firings came despite a $750 million cash infusion the mortgage company received last week. 

The boss also said market efficiency, performance, and productivity were to blame for the firings, adding that it was necessary for the company to 'move in order to survive.' 

He later apologized in an email to staff, admitting he 'failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for individuals who are affected and for their contributions to Better.'

He added: 'I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.

'I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse. 

'I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from the situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be.' 

Those on the call found their company-owned computers beginning to shut down after the meeting. 

One angry worker filmed the call and shared it online, complete with a moment where they cursed at the CEO as he confirmed the mass 'termination' of employees from the Manhattan-headquartered mortgage provider. 

The unidentified male worker could be heard to say: 'F**k you dude. Are you f**king kidding me?' 

Garg, who has been accused of being 'erratic' by workers, later doubled-down in a scathing blog post which saw him lay into his staff for 'stealing' through laziness.

The father-of-three wrote on professional network Blind: 'You guys know that at least 250 of the people terminated were working an average of 2 hours a day while clocking 8 hours+ a day in the payroll system?'

'They were stealing from you and stealing from our customers who pay the bills that pay our bills. Get educated,' he added. 

Speaking to Fortune, Garg - who once threatened to staple a former business partner to a wall and burn him alive, according to court documents - confirmed he had made the comments under the anonymous username 'uneducated', but refused to back down. 

'I think they could have been phrased differently, but honestly the sentiment is there,' he said. 

This isn't news that you're going to want to hear...If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,' Garg abruptly announced on the call

'Your employment here is terminated effective immediately,' the CEO added

This isn't news that you're going to want to hear...If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,' Garg abruptly announced on the call. 'Your employment here is terminated effective immediately'

Better.com is a Softbank-backed mortgage lender with a massive $7.7B valuation

Vishal Garg's Better.com offers pre-approval on a mortgage in minutes.

It saw its share price soar during the pandemic as the saturated home buying market, coupled with low interest rates, saw thousands of new customers looking for fast ways to get a loan.

The Softbank-backed company announced in May it was going public through an SPAC and received $750 million in cash as part of the deal. 

The company is prepared to have more than $1 billionon its balance sheet, and it will go public with a $7.7B valuation.  

Advertisement

Earlier, he described in his Zoom call how hard it was for him to fire the staff and how he hoped he would not cry as he had done in the past.

'This is the second time in my career I'm doing this and I do not do not want to do this,' he said. 

'The last time I did it, I cried. 

'This time, I hope to be stronger. 

'We are laying off about 15% of the company for a number of reasons — the market, efficiency and performances and productivity,' he told workers.

A firm spokesman later corrected the boss's figure, and said that the actual proportion of staff who'd been laid off was nine per cent. 

Garg told Fortune that four weeks ago the

read more from dailymail.....

PREV Sydney northern beaches acai bowl menu war gets ugly as Blessed Bowls, ... trends now
NEXT In news vacuum, rumours and concern swirl over Catherine mogaznewsen