The end of the year should be about celebrating your staff, Christmas bonuses, and joy. But one company didn’t get that memo. About 900 employees of digital mortgage company Better.com learned they had been fired in an abruptly scheduled, three-minute group Zoom call. A recording of the December 1st meeting was posted to TikTok.
Employees logged on to the impromptu call and this is what they got
CEO Vishal Garg said, “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”
Employees said those laid off were random and didn't make a lot of sense
@wanderellaco Better.com laid off 900 people this week #layoff #layoffs #laidoff #jobsearch
♬ original sound - WanderellaSomeone should teach this CEO how to handle this situation
Employees were understandably not impressed
@wanderellaco What employees said about Better #layoff #layoffs #laidoff #jobsearch
♬ original sound - Mr BarbarYou can definitely get rid of that label
https://t.co/4GccLSZ3en Lays off 10% of their workforce, days before Christmas while simultaneously taking a $1B payday. Analysts need to remove this place off the "best places to work" lists. #layoffs
— Lovable hater (@Rentaur) December 1, 2021Maybe he should hope to be more compasionate
One of the 900 employees fired via Zoom call by https://t.co/GE6nde2GUd’s CEO slams “dispassionate” manner company handled this.
— Kristine Servando (@tinssoldier) December 7, 2021
CEO prefaces call by saying he cried the first time he had to conduct mass layoffs, and “this time I hope to be stronger” 😵💫 https://t.co/0vlw43MML9They are probably better off not working for a company with a CEO like this
The Bizarre Circumstance behind the https://t.co/tlMmvzifdX Layoffs – A Tale of a Toxic Workplace https://t.co/qg00zCUNIY
— tingsmencup (@tingsmencup) December 7, 2021Good luck finding employees who have any shred of respect for you
@workhap won’t forget what you did 😢 #layoff #vishalgarg #betterlayoffs #worklife #workhap
♬ original sound - secret brittanyI'm completely opposed to cancel culture but this guy and company just might deserve it
I just don’t see how anybody could or would wanna do business with this company after this happens. But, I also know a lot of ppl who don’t care, and still will.https://t.co/eb3RosKvaD has mass layoffs on Zoom before holidays https://t.co/AsG41hVQRk
— Bloc from the Block Ⓐ (@161_BKLYN) December 7, 2021Hopefully he doesn't get a next time but if so maybe he will handle it
There's a lot to discuss about https://t.co/QMaA0giiTg's recent #layoff, but I'd like to focus on one thing the CEO said: “The last time I did this, I cried. This time, I hope to be stronger.” My advice when laying off people: Don't make it about you! https://t.co/f8fFPEK6SV
— Augie Ray (@augieray) December 7, 2021