BENGALURU: US-based mortgage lender Better.com has reportedly laid off thousands of employees globally, including employees in India. According to employees, at least 3,000 people received severance payments.
Eric Blattberg, an employee with Better in a LinkedIn post said, “My employee Better is laying off roughly 4,000 people today, about 50% of the company....Included in the laid-off crowd are women who are pregnant and trusted Better with their stability during one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.”
Vishal Garg, Indian-origin CEO of Better.com, recently fired 900 employees over a zoom call, and later apologised for the way he had handled the layoffs.
He also took time off from work and returned to his job in the second week of January. Many employees took to LinkedIn to share their experiences of the lay-off. One of the employees Amanda Bullard said her computer was just shut down in the middle of her conversation with one of her clients.
“I was one of roughly 4,000 laid off from Better today. I did not find out through our payroll system, my bank account showing a severance check, or a phone call from HR,” she said. “The residential real estate market has been changing rapidly, and our entire industry is facing a dramatic drop in origination volume due to rising interest rates...Unfortunately, that means we must take the difficult step of streamlining our operations further and reducing our workforce in both the US and India in a substantial way,” Kevin Ryan, CFO and Interim President, Better.com, said in a letter to employees.