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, has apologised to current employees for the way he handled the situation, according to an internal letter leaked on anonymous workplace community app Blind.
“I want to apologise for the way I handled the layoffs last week,” Vishal Garg said in the letter.
“I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better.”
A video of the December 1 Zoom call where Mr Garg fired about 900 employees of the SoftBank-backed company was uploaded on YouTube by an employee.
“If you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” Mr Garg said on the December 1 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.
“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 to current employees.
“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.”
Meanwhile, sources told TechCrunch the company’s vice president of communications, Patrick Lenihan; head of public relations, Tanya Gillogley; and head of marketing, Melanie Hahn, have all submitted their resignations.
I realise that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse
Vishal Garg,
chief executive, Better.com
Shortly after laying off hundreds of people, Mr Garg addressed remaining employees in a livestreamed town hall meeting, according to a leaked recording shared with news publication Insider.
“Today, we acknowledge that we overhired and hired the wrong people, and in doing that, we failed,” the chief executive said in the December 1 meeting. “I failed. I was not disciplined over the last 18 months.”
He laid out a vision of what he called “Better 2.0,” with a “leaner, meaner, hungrier workforce”, according to the leaked recording of the town hall meeting.
The mortgage lender also pushed back its public listing through a merger with a blank-check firm Aurora Acquisition after amending the deal a day before it terminated part of its workforce, according to Bloomberg.
The company will seek new regulatory approval after revising the terms of the merger, sources told Bloomberg. That will push back the closing of the transaction, which the companies had previously announced was likely to happen in the fourth quarter.
Better.com announced last week it had received a cash infusion of about $750 million as an amendment of its special purpose acquisition company agreement, according to TechCrunch.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman
Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870
Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed PDK
Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
THREE
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
