Why Did Better.com Fired 3000 Employees and Where Did They Go Wrong?

When you start a business, apart from ideas, funds and a proper plan, you need people to work on that plan and execute it in a perfect way and those people are your employees, they are the driving force of an organization. Your employees are your assets, they are the ones who can make or break your company because a company is as good as its employees.

An employee’s efficiency can be found in the productivity of your business, they serve the customers along with you. Therefore, if you want to keep your business alive, you also need to take care of your employees, not only through monetary terms but from all around. Your internal public is as valuable as your external public.

Recently, Better.Com has fired 3000 employees, without any prior notice. In this article, we will talk about the reason for firing so many employees and what did the company do wrong. So without any further ado, let’s get right into the business.

“Employees are the key to your success with customers. Treat them well!” — Ron Kaufman

About Better.com
Fired 900 Employees Over Zoom Call
The Backlash From the Public
Termination of 3000 Employees
Reasons for the Lay Off
Where did Better.com Go Wrong?

About Better.com

Better.com is an American company that provides mortgage lending and financing-related services through its online platform. The company was founded in the year 2014 by Vishal Garg and started its first business, Better Mortgage in 2016.

The company is the direct lender of conventional loans, jumbo loans, fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages and refinancing loans. The online mortgage company is backed by Softbank.

One of the attractive features of the company is that it does not take loan origination fees while providing loans. The headquarters of the company is situated in New York, United States of America.

Fired 900 Employees Over Zoom Call

Things took a wrong turn when, the digital mortgage company in 2021, on the month of December fired 900 employees over a Zoom Call. In a simple Zoom call, CEO Vishal Garg of the company announced that 900 of the employees, who were part of the Zoom call, are fired from their job.

The sudden terminations of those employees were met with a negative response around the world. The reasons for the termination were the lack of productivity and efficiency of the employees.

The Backlash From the Public

The sudden move by the company and its CEO received severe backlash from the world, as no prior notice was provided to them before their termination and created a negative impression of the company in the business industry.  

The move was done after the company received a $750 million cash infusion. Following this incident, the CEO of the company, Vishal Garg stepped down from his position and took a break after being criticized by the public for this step.

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Termination of 3000 Employees

After Garg’s break, he returned to his prior position. The situation grabbed the headlines and the action was criticised by general people for being extremely insensitive.

As mentioned above, before firing the 900 employees, Better.com has done a similar deed last year as well. After just a couple of months later, on March 8, Better.com again has sacked 3000 of its employees from their position in the United States of America and India.

The employees received their cheques in the payroll app and the way they got sacked was not at all in a good way as most of their computers got shut down in the middle of their work.

Reasons for the Lay Off

The first reason for the termination of the employees is the rise of interest value which has led to a drop in the origination value. The company let 35% of its workforce go. The company again said that efficiency is quite a big concern, so they are also laying employees off for that reason.

Where did Better.com Go Wrong?

The first fault is the lack of communication. Any kind of business need communication, lack of it will lead to problems only. Better.com has done the same thing twice, without having proper communication with their employees, the company is firing them. The employees were not given notice of their termination. This has created a negative impression of the company around the world.

Employees shared their experiences on different social media platforms, which has again created a stir. Bad word of mouth has been spread regarding the company, which somehow is affecting the company’s reputation.

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Conclusion

As mentioned before the company is as good as its employees and the employer has every right to fire those who are not efficient enough and are not able to provide productivity. However, firing the employees must be done in such a way that it will not crush them entirely, proper communication is necessary while doing that.

FAQs

Why is Better.com laying off employees?

Better.com laid off employees citing the reason efficiency is a big concern for the company.

Who founded Better.com?

Better.com was founded by Vishal Garg in 2014.

When was Better.com founded?

Better.com was founded in the year 2014 by Vishal Garg.