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Watch | CEO abruptly terminates over 900 employees in US and India over Zoom call

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Dec 06, 2021, 04:30 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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Better.com CEO Vishal Garg made the announcement on Wednesday saying that about 9 per cent of its workforce have been laid off

More than 900 employees in the US and India of a mortgage lender company were fired abruptly by the CEO during a three-minute Zoom call.

According to CNN, Better.com CEO Vishal Garg made the announcement on Wednesday saying that about 9 per cent of its workforce have been laid off.

“I come to you with not great news. The market has changed and we have to move with it in order to survive, so that hopefully, we can thrive and hopefully, deliver on our mission,” he said as he began the grim announcement.

He blamed market efficiency, performance and productivity as the reason behind the firings,

“If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off," Garg, who founded Better.com in 2016, said on the call.

“Your employment here is terminated effective immediately,” he said, adding that employees could expect an email from HR detailing benefits and severance.

Around 15 per cent of employees of the New York-headquartered company have lost their jobs as part of the cost-cutting exercise.

Garg said that this is the second round of lay-offs Garg has undertaken.

A video of the Zoom call has been widely shared on the internet.

“Having to conduct layoffs is gut-wrenching, especially this time of year," CFO Kevin Ryan said in a statement to CNN Business.

“However, a fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce together set us up to play offence going into a radically evolving homeownership market.”

(With inputs from agencies)