CEO apologizes for ‘blunder’ after firing hundreds of employees via Zoom: ‘I made a difficult situation worse’
US-based digital mortgage company Better.com CEO Vishal Garg has apologized after firing 900 employees in a Zoom call.
In a statement posted on Better.com’s website, the CEO said he failed to show the “appropriate amount of respect and appreciation” to the employees who were affected.
“I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you,” Garg wrote. He also apologized for making “a difficult situation worse,” noting his commitment to “doing more” as a leader.
Garg said he’d take steps toward being “transparent and aligned” with the company and its goals for 2022.
Garg’s apology comes after the wave of criticism on social media after footage of the mass layoffs was posted on YouTube and Tiktok. The CEO previously asked employees to participate in a Zoom call, only to be informed that they will lose their jobs.
Three company executives reportedly quit after the mass layoffs, as per Business Insider.
The mortgage company’s retrenchment comes in the wake of a dip in the US mortgage market amid a low interest rate environment.