Just weeks before Christmas, hundreds of employees of the digital mortgage company, Better.com, learned that they had been laid off in an abruptly scheduled three-minute group Zoom call, NBC New reports.
“I come to you with not great news,” CEO Vishal Garg said in a recording of the Zoom call was posted to TikTok. “We are laying off about 15 percent of the company for a number of reasons — the market efficiency and performances, and productivity.”
Recommended Videos
“If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” Garg continued. “Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”
Garg told hundreds of former employees that they would get about a month’s pay and three months of benefits, which would be detailed in an email sent to their personal email addresses from human resources.
According to NBC News, an employee who was on the call said his company-issued computer went dark shortly after the call ended and didn’t receive the HR email until hours later.
“I thought I was safe. I had perfect reviews and thought I was an integral part of the team. It’s a bummer, because I know I worked really hard to help build up that company, and it looks like I just wasted my time,” said the employee, who asked NBC News not to be identified.
A day prior to the layoffs, the company received a $750 million cash infusion from its backers, Fortune and TechCrunch reported.
The New York-based company has offices in Charlotte, North Carolina; Oakland and Irvine, California; and Gurgaon, India.