Video Of 900 Employees Dismissal Via Zoom Goes Viral, Vishal Garg Finally Apologizes

Vishal Garg, fired 900 employees via video on Zoom. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA – Better.com's chief executive, Vishal Garg, apologized for the way he handled layoffs at the mortgage company after he fired 900 people last week via Zoom calls. The video of the dismissal has since gone viral on social media.

Vishal Garg, who came under heavy criticism after the SoftBank-backed company laid off about 9% of its workforce via video calls. He said he had "messed up the execution" in communicating the layoffs.

"I realize that the way I deliver this news is making a difficult situation worse," Garg said in a letter dated Tuesday, December 7, as quoted by Reuters.

The CEO has cited market, performance, and productivity as reasons behind the decision to lay off employees in the United States and India.

Better.com said in May it would go public through a merger with blank check firm Aurora Acquisition Corp, in a deal worth $7.7 billion.

Earlier this month, terms were changed to give Better.com half of SoftBank's $1.5 billion bid immediately, instead of waiting for the deal to close.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, Better.com offers mortgage and insurance products to homeowners through its online platform.