Zoom termination shocker: Better.com CEO Vishal Garg fires 900 plus employees

It was a Zoom termination call from hell for hundreds of employees. Vishal Garg, the chief executive officer (CEO) of mortgage lender Better.com fired more than 900 employees over a Zoom call, according to a report by CNN. The webinar on Zoom took place on Wednesday where he informed that nine per cent of the company’s workforce is being laid off. "If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off," according to CNN, which quoted the CEO from a recording of the call. "Your employment here is terminated effective immediately," he added.

Market efficiency, performance and productivity were the reasons cited by Vishal Garg for the lay offs. However, Fortune reported that Garg accused these employees of "stealing" from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive and working only two hours a day.

The company’s chief financial officer (CFO) Kevin Ryan said in a statement to CNN said, “"Having to conduct layoffs is gut wrenching, especially this time of year."

He added, "However, a fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce together set us up to play offense going into a radically evolving homeownership market."

In the Zoom call, the CEO said that this is the second time he is taking such a decision and he did not want to do this. He said that the last time he did so, he cried.

Many people have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and this is a massive setback as people are already in need of money amid the health crisis. Losing jobs adds to the problem. Job losses during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has been termed “catastrophic” by many business leaders.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, in the United States, temporary layoffs were cited as the main contributor to the high unemployment rate of 14.7 per cent in April last year. Harvard Business Review (HBR) has reported that Covid-19 has caused “deep and long lasting” damage to the job market.

The report said that managers are not only dealing with the stress and sadness of having to let go of a large number of their workers, many of them are also feeling underlying anxiety about their own positions.