Vishal Garg, the chief executive of mortgage company Better.com, has issued an apology after he abruptly fired 900 employees during a Zoom conference call earlier this month, CBS News reports.
"I want to apologize for the way I handled the layoffs last week," Garg wrote in a statement addressed to Better.com's current employees 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."
He added he "blundered the execution."
Earlier this month, Garg said on the Zoom call: ''I come to you with not great news. We are laying off about 15% of the company for a number of reasons — the market efficiency and performances, and productivity. 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 also said, ''This is the second time in my career I'm doing this, and I do not want to do this. The last time, I did it I cried. Um, this time, I hope to be stronger.''
Fortune.com noted although demand for mortgages has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, on the day before the mass layoffs were announced Better.com reportedly received about $750 million in funding from its investors.
Former Better trainer Christian Chapman, one of the 900 workers fired during the Zoom call, said the news came like a "kick in the gut."
He added, when Garg informed the group of their firing he thought: 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.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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