JUNE 13, 2023 — ENTIRE REAL ESTATE TEAM GONE
The company has made the decision to lay off its entire real estate team and subsequently discontinue the unit impacting 4,000 employees in the United States and India as the company transitions from an in-house agent model to a partnership agent model.
APRIL 22, 2022 — ANOTHER 1,000 - 1,200 EMPLOYEES GONE
The company’s CEO Vishal Garg infamously laid off 900 people, or 9% of its workforce, via Zoom in December 2021. Better then laid off another 3,100 people on March 8, 2022.
And now the company has conducted its third mass layoff of 1,000 - 1,200 employees, citing a declining mortgage market.
According to Better.com’s chief people, performance, and culture officer, Richard Benson-Armer. “This is not the measure we wanted to take. But, this is both prudent and necessary for the health of our business.”
MARCH 10, 2022 — 3,000 EMPLOYEES GONE
The company has announced plans to lay off about a third of its 9,000-employee workforce, or about 3,000 employees.
In an employee letter, CEO Kevin Ryan noted…
“We have an important and difficult announcement today, and the leadership team and I want you to hear it from us first.
As you know, 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. It is clear – after careful, comprehensive review – that we will need to do more to ensure a strong path forward for the company and the vital work we are all doing to make homeownership more accessible for everyone.
Unfortunately, that means we must take the difficult step of streamlining our operations further and reducing our workforce in both the U.S. and India in a substantial way. We have huge opportunities ahead to grow and to serve, but we must adjust to volatility in the interest rate environment and refinancing market to get there successfully.
This decision is driven heavily by the headwinds affecting the residential real estate market; it is in no way a reflection on the personal performance of any departing team members, all of whom have contributed to Better’s success. While it does not make this any easier other companies across the mortgage industry (both old and new) have had to make similar decisions over the last 2 months.
Across functions, specialties, and offices, we have an incredibly talented team at Better, and losing valued colleagues is never something we wish to pursue. We do not take this decision lightly and want to let you know about the important steps we are taking in the coming days to support the transition for coworkers leaving Better. We are also taking steps to ensure seamless service for our customers.
I hope you will join me in thanking colleagues who will be leaving Better for all of their contributions and letting your networks know about these talented professionals. We have an even stronger future ahead creating opportunities for homebuyers, and I remain deeply grateful for your continued collaboration, dedication, and great work.”
FEBRUARY 19, 2022 — MORE DEFECTIONS, MAJOR LAYOFFS POSSIBLE
Executives continue to depart. And according to TechCrunch…
“Meanwhile, multiple sources who wish to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation tell TechCrunch that Better is preparing for a massive layoff that could affect as much as 40% to 50% of its staff. The layoffs are expected to hit sometime in March. At the time of the company’s early December layoffs, Better.com had about 9,100 employees. Since then, remaining employees have reportedly been leaving in droves, with senior executives leaving one by one.”
JANUARY 31, 2022 — EMPLOYEES CONTINUE TO DEPART AFTER SUSPENDED CEO RETURNS
According to TechCrunch…
“Employees of US-headquartered mortgage company Better.com are leaving the company in “droves” after Vishal Garg returned as their CEO over a month after he laid off 900 employees in a single Zoom call, TechCrunch reported.
But that’s not all. Now that Garg is back, he is apparently paranoid about things being leaked to the media and according to one employee, he and the rest of the execs still there “have put everything on lockdown.”
For example, engineering managers were said to have had an AMA (Ask Me Anything) with Garg and only in-person workers were allowed to attend. Those employees had to sign NDAs and place phones in paper bags, and there were even metal detectors to make sure no one had recording devices. Also, the company has reportedly disabled sharing of Google documents internally and they’ve blocked access to all companywide dashboards – likely because business has probably suffered dramatically. As the employee put it: ‘There’s no transparency into anything. Vishal doesn’t trust anyone.’”
DECEMBER 13, 2021 — Original post…
New York, New York-based Better.com, a technology-driven online mortgage originator, has announced a major reduction in force of 900 employees, mostly non-commission, refi-focused, salaried loan officers and support staff, in preparation for a public offering. Further automation of re-fi operations is likely to drive additional layoffs.
Like many companies forecasting a real estate mortgage boom, the company hired about 7,000 employees as it prepared to meet forecasted demand as a public company. Unfortunately, the mortgage market appears to be contracting in response to pandemic restrictions and rising interest rates that significantly affect mortgage markets.
The company is attempting to readjust its purchase and re-fi origination mix to meet market demand. It appears that the end of an 18 month period of rapid expansion driven by historically lower interest rates has been checked by new Federal Reserve initiatives.
The layoff notice was given during a one-way video chat by CEO Vishal Garg WHO NOTED, “This is the second time in my career I’m doing this and I do not want to do this. The last time I did it, I cried; this time I hope to be stronger. If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”
Ironically, the CFO was forced to take a leave of absence by the Board of Directors when the story of the brutal firing went viral on social media. The company has hired a consultant to perform a "leadership and cultural assessment, whose recommendations will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better." Code speak often used to give the Board a reason to break an employment contract without a large payout.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?