Christian Chapman, a former Better.com insurer, thought he was connecting to yet another boss meeting hosted by CEO Vishal Garg to speak with his employees.
What he didn’t know was that this would be his last call as an employee of the real estate company.
“If you’re on this call, you’re part of the unlucky group being fired,” Garg said in a one-way webinar last Wednesday, which ran for three minutes.
Garg started immediately and did not wait for workers to enter the meeting. “Your employment here is terminated with immediate effect.”
The call ended abruptly, leaving the insurer dumbfounded. Chapman, who is the sole provider for a family of 7 people, was used to his boss’s outbursts—but this was unexpected.
Chapman began posting messages on the company’s Slack channels asking what was happening when his screens went black—he lost access to his company’s computer, phone, email, and messages. He turned to Facebook Messenger to get in touch with colleagues.
Garg had promised a follow-up email from HR, but employee access was terminated. Chapman finally received the communication via his personal email a few hours later.
“It was a surreal moment. It was one of those things you don’t believe will happen,” Chapman said.
A lot of money
The company laid off 900 employees in those few minutes, about 9% of its workforce. Better.com is valued at $6.9 billion —earning unicorn status. The company ranked first on LinkedIn’s Top Startups of 2020 and 2021.
Questioned, Better.com did not respond to a request for comment.
Backed by Softbank, the company announced in May that it was going public through a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
The day before the layoffs, the company announced it had received $750 million in cash as part of an amended deal with investors, according to TechCrunch. That would mean Better has $1 billion in cash.
But a lot of money in a company does not make up for the performance of the real estate market.
Garg later accused the fired employees of “stealing” from their colleagues and customers, for being unproductive and for working only two hours a day, according to Fortune, which confirmed those feelings in an interview with the CEO.
Several former employees interviewed by CNN Business said the team was shocked by the CEO’s comments and his sudden resignation.
But Garg has been embroiled in controversy before, as evidenced by an email he sent to the team obtained by Forbes in 2020: “You guys are TOO SLOW. You guys are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS… STOP. STOP. STOP NOW. YOU’RE ASHAMED ME,” he wrote.
“I got promoted, and now he’s out there trying to portray everyone as lazy and a money thief,” said another former employee who asked not to be named and who recently won an award for his performance at the company.
“This is horrible. I’d rather not have money than what’s going on in Garg’s head.”
Chapman, who has worked in the mortgage business for nearly 20 years, also said he recently completed a positive performance review call with his manager.
Employees described a chaotic work culture at Better.com, a culture with many benefits, but also a CEO who regularly hurled profanity and curses in company-wide virtual meetings.
“I realized after my first meeting that I needed to keep him on mute and with my headphones on because I have five kids and I didn’t want them to hear that kind of language,” Chapman said.
Chapman said he has gone through four layoffs at various mortgage companies, but none as “dumb and cold” as this one.
“I’m looking for the bright side, but that’s the reality of the situation,” Chapman said. “Things are not going to be what they were and accepting that will require an effort on my part.”
What went wrong?
The mortgage industry has been fueled by refinancing that skyrocketed during the pandemic as mortgage rates dropped to historic lows. But with mortgage rates rising and expected to increase further, this boom is slowing down.
After dropping steadily during the first year of the pandemic, mortgage rates hit a record low in early 2021, with 30-year mortgages available for just 2.65%. But rates are going up now.
The Mortgage Bankers Association expects the 30-year fixed rate mortgage to end 2021 at 3.1% and rise to 4.0% by the end of 2022.
Anna Bahney of CNN contributed to this report.
*(Translated text. Click here to read the original, in English)
Reference: CNN Brasil
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
