Better.com CEO Vishal Garg Fires 900 Employees During Zoom Call, Video Goes Viral
In the past, Vishal Garg courted controversy when a rude email that he sent to staff got wider attention.
New Delhi: Vishal Garg, CEO of online mortgage company Better.com, fired 900 of his employees during a Zoom call.
The CEO then justified the decision by alleging that the employees were clocking more hours than their actual work, effectively “stealing” from customers.
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In a brutal Zoom call, Vishal Garg announced the decision to fire 900 employees, Daily Mail reported.
One angry employee filmed the moment and shared it online. In the video, a person can be heard cursing the CEO.
(Video includes abusive language, viewer discretion is advised)
In the short clip going viral on social media, the Indian-American CEO can be heard saying: “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”.
Vishal Garg: “I wish I didn’t have to lay off 900 of you over a zoom call but I’m gonna lay y’all off right before the holidays lmfaooo”pic.twitter.com/6bxPGTemEG
— litquidity (@litcapital) December 5, 2021
Announcing the news about the terminations, Vishal Garg said: “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated immediately”.
Daily Mail reported that a firm spokesperson later corrected the figure, informing that the actual proportion of staff laid off was nine per cent.
Among those fired were the diversity, equity, and inclusion recruiting team, reported CNN.
While he attempted to appear emotional about the development in the Zoom call, in a blog post on the network Blind, he tried to justify the decision writing: “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,” he added.
Speaking to Fortune, the Better.com CEO confirmed making the comments under the anonymous username ‘uneducated’.
In the past, Vishal Garg had courted controversy when a rude email that he sent to staff got wider attention. “You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS... SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME,” he had written in the email, a copy of which was obtained by Forbes.
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