Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apologises after laying off 900 employees over zoom call

Vishal Garg, the CEO of Better.com, has apologised after receiving backlash for firing hundreds of employees via a Zoom call last week. Garg apologised for the way he handled the layoffs last week in an email to current employees and said he wanted to “apologize for the way I handled the layoffs last week.”

“I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better,” Garg wrote. “I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.”

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Garg added that the way he communicated the layoffs “made a difficult situation worse,” and he committed to doing more as a leader. He also stated that he would take steps to increase transparency within the company and set goals for 2022.

“I believe in you, I believe in Better, and I believe that working together we can make homeownership better,” Garg concluded.

Christian Chapman, a former Better trainer who was among the 900 laid off last week, told CBS News that his firing was unexpected and sudden, noting that he was promoted in June and received a raise in October. Days before the firing, the company had just received $750 million in funding. 

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Garg’s apology was panned by Chapman. He described being fired because of Zoom as a “kick in the gut”, recalling the thoughts that ran through his mind as the executive delivered the news, “First, is this really happening? And why is it so cold and callous — it seems to lack empathy. Is this capitalism at its worst? We had just gotten $750 million in liquid funding.”

The apology comes after the company’s top management, including the vice president of communications, the head of public relations, and the head of marketing, all resigned on Monday as a result of the layoffs. 

The day before the layoffs, Better.com, a digital mortgage lender, received $750 million in funding from SoftBank and Aurora Acquisition as part of a plan to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal has been postponed, but the company is expected to be valued at $6.9 billion.