Then, toward the end of the approximately three-minute Zoom meeting, my computer suddenly turned off and I was cut off from the people I had just been unceremoniously laid off with. We sent each other frantic questions: "Is this really happening?" "Are we being laid off?" "Is the company going under?" Sometimes, I talked to them more than I talked to my own family. I immediately started messaging my colleagues who had turned into genuine friends during my time at Better.
Your employment here is terminated effective immediately." Then, Garg said the thing that sucked the air out of the room: "If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off.
Garg continued by saying this wasn't the first time he had to do something like this in his career, but he hoped not to cry this time.
After all, I'd been promoted in April and given a raise in October for the work I was doing. I was to join an unexpected meeting, as were many of my colleagues and friends.īetter's CEO, Vishal Garg, started the meeting by saying, "I come to you with not great news." For a moment, I wondered if I'd been invited to the meeting accidentally. With only a few weeks until Christmas, I was discussing a White Elephant gift exchange with my fellow trainers at mortgage startup when an invitation popped up on my calendar. It has been edited for length and clarity. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME," according to a copy obtained by Fortune magazine.This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Christian Chapman, a former Better employee included in the company's recent 900-person mass layoff. In the email, he wrote, "You are TOO DAMN SLOW.
Last year, Garg courted controversy for an email that he sent his staff. The Softbank-backed company - founded by Garg in 2014 - is estimated to be worth around $6 billion. "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." "Having to conduct layoffs is gut-wrenching, especially this time of year," he said in a statement quoted by NBC news. What Garg did not mention during the call was that last week, the company received a $750 million (€664 million) cash infusion from its investors as part of the deal, news outlet TechCrunch and Fortune magazine reported.Ĭhief financial officer Kevin Ryan said the layoffs and the cash infusion were big wins for the company. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video $750 million cash infusion
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