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'If you're on this call, your employment here is TERMINATED': CEO of mortgage lender Better.com lays off 900 workers in Zoom call - then calls them so lazy they were effectively 'stealing' from customers

  The CEO of an online mortgage lender fired 900 of his employees in a brutal Zoom call - then slammed them for being so 'lazy' they...

 The CEO of an online mortgage lender fired 900 of his employees in a brutal Zoom call - then slammed them for being so 'lazy' they effectively 'stole' from customers.

Vishal Garg axed around nine per cent of Better.com's workforce last Wednesday - three weeks before Christmas - including its entire diversity, equity and inclusion team, which deals with complaints about racism and sexism in the workplace. 

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.'

The 43-year-old said that the 'market has changed' meaning savage cuts to the $7 billion company's workforce were needed to avert disaster.

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. 

Better.com's controversial CEO Vishal Garg, 43, fired 900 employees over a Zoom call claiming market fluctuations performance, and productivity. However, the mortgage lender, backed by Softbank, received a $750 million cash infusion last week, after announcing in May it was going public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)

Better.com's controversial CEO Vishal Garg, 43, fired 900 employees over a Zoom call claiming market fluctuations performance, and productivity. However, the mortgage lender, backed by Softbank, received a $750 million cash infusion last week, after announcing in May it was going public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)

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 CEO Vishal Garg fires 900 employees over zoom call
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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. 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 wielded the ax while blaming market fluctuations, 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.' 

Garg told Fortune that four weeks ago the firm started reviewing employee productivity data, including missed telephone call rates, number of inbound and outbound calls, employees showing up late to meetings with a customer, and other metrics.

'As we started to slow down our pace of hiring, we saw some alarming statistics and a number of our customers were not getting the service that they deserved from our teammates,' he said.

Garg's rationale behind the firings was further debunked by reports that the CEO accused workers of being unproductive and stealing from the company by working two hours and clocking 8+

Garg's rationale behind the firings was further debunked by reports that the CEO accused workers of being unproductive and stealing from the company by working two hours and clocking 8+

Staff said they were stunned by the move and criticized Garg for another 'threatening' companywide call he held after the layoffs were announced, saying that the performance of remaining employees would be closely monitored.  

'His tone was extremely harsh and threatening,' one employee told Fortune. Two others said that Garg warned next year would be a 'bloodbath.'

'It was just very strange,' said one of the sources. 'The comments were disturbing.'

Garg told Fortune that he did not threaten staff and that 'there is no additional watching taking place,' aside from that which is already required by the regulator. However, he did admit the firm was looking more at productivity data. 

He said his 'bloodbath' comment had been taken out of context and was a broader reference to the mortgage market. 

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