CEO who went viral for laying off 900 employees on Zoom says he’s taking time off ‘immediately’

A CEO who made headlines for firing 900 employees on a Zoom call is "taking time off effective immediately," according to an internal memo.

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg fired hundreds of employees last Wednesday during a call by stating: “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off.”

The memo, published byVICE, states that CFO Kevin Ryan will manage the “day-to-day decisions of the company” and report to the board.

It also made reference to the “very regrettable events over the last week”.

The note reveals that the board has engaged “an independent third party firm to do a leadership and cultural assessment”. The findings of the assessment will go towards building “a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better”.

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“We have much work to do and we hope that everyone can refocus on our customers and support each other to continue to build a great company and a company we can be proud of,” the memo concludes.

The fired employees were told they would receive about a month’s pay and three months of benefits, according to NBC News.

One anonymous former employee told the network that his company-issued computer “went dark” shortly after the call.

Another former employee told The Daily Beast: “They dumped us like trash. We were there since the beginning and worked hard for the company and for our roles.”

In a letter uploaded to the company’s website on Tuesday, Garg apologised “for the way [he] handled the layoffs last week.”

He wrote: “I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better.

“I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.

“I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse. I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from this situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be.”

In an email first uncovered by Forbes last year, Garg previously allegedly called his employees “dumb dolphins” who were “slow” and who were going to be eaten by “sharks.” He demanded they stop “embarrassing” him.

In the wake of the Zoom call controversy, three executives have reportedly resigned.

Indy100 has contacted Better.com for comment.