Better.com CEO who fired 900 workers on Zoom call to take time off, company says

Vishal Garg, the chief executive of US-based digital mortgage lender Better.com, who laid off about 15 per cent of the company’s workforce on a Zoom call, is taking "some time off effective immediately", as the firm reassesses its workplace culture, according to an internal memo cited by Vice.

"Vishal will be taking time off effective immediately. During this interim period Kevin Ryan as CFO will be managing the day-to-day decisions of the company and he will be reporting to the board," the letter said.

"The board has engaged an independent third party firm to do a leadership and cultural assessment. The recommendations of this assessment will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better."

SoftBank-backed Better.com has come under sharp criticism in recent weeks after a video of Mr Garg firing 900 employees on a Zoom call on December 1 was uploaded on YouTube.

“If you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” Mr Garg said on the call. “Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”

The chief executive cited market conditions and a downturn in the company’s performance as reasons behind the dismissals.

Mr Garg apologised to the company's employees earlier this week in a letter, where he said he failed to show the required respect and appreciation for those who were affected.

“I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you,” Mr Garg said in the letter.

“I realise 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.”

However, his apology has failed to stem the criticism against his behaviour as more details about Mr Garg's treatment of workers have come to light, further exposing the cracks in corporate America's workplace culture problems.

Mr Garg reportedly called a top investor "sewage" and has strongly spoken against his employees taking a day off for Indigenous Peoples' Day, Vice reported.

Better.com, which was set to go public through a merger with blank-check firm Aurora Acquisition, also delayed the deal a day before it terminated part of its workforce, according to Bloomberg.

The mortgage lender will seek new regulatory approval after revising the terms of the merger, a move that will probably postpone the closing of the transaction.

Better.com received a cash infusion of about $750 million as an amendment of its special purpose acquisition company agreement, TechCrunch reported.