Better.com's CEO who fired 900 employees via Zoom call undergoes leadership training to win staff trust

Better.com's CEO who fired 900 employees via Zoom call undergoes leadership training to win staff trust

The CEO known for firing 900 employees through a Zoom call in December 2021, revealed in a recent interview that he's "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss.

Garg was widely criticized for his handling of the layoffs
Business Today Desk
  • Aug 26, 2023,
  • Updated Aug 26, 2023, 4:37 PM IST
  • Vishal Garg has undergone leadership training to get back the trust of staff
  • He told Techcrunch in an interview that he's "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss.
  • Garg was widely criticized for his handling of the layoffs

Vishal Garg, the CEO of Better.com, has now undertaken leadership training in a bid to regain the trust of his staff.

The CEO, known for firing 900 employees through a Zoom call in December 2021, revealed in a recent interview with TechCrunch that he's "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss.

Garg was widely criticised for his handling of the layoffs, which were conducted without warning and in a very impersonal way. The layoffs also came at a time when Better.com was still hiring, which made them even more difficult to understand.

After the layoffs, Garg apologized for his handling of the situation and said that he would be going through leadership training. He told TechCrunch that he wanted to learn how to be a better leader and to earn back the trust of his employees.

"So I've worked really, really hard to change the way that I show up to the team every day, and to be more empathetic and to treat them with the same level of kindness that I showed our customers," Garg told TechCrunch.

Garg said in an interview released on Wednesday that he worked hard to change how he communicates with his employees every day. He wished to be more understanding and to treat them as well as the company's customers.

Garg stated that he used to be very focused on the company's mission and growth, as well as customer satisfaction. However, he realised that if he wanted his company's consumers to be pleased, he needed to make sure his employees were happy as well.

According to Garg, Better.com currently employs close to 1,000 people. Garg's company recently went public through a merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp. The deal had been delayed for some time. Better.com shares began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol BETR. However, when trading began, the stock's value plunged by more than 90 per cent, a substantial loss.

In June, Better.com, an American company that operates an online platform for mortgage origination and related services, has decided to discontinue its real estate business. As a result, it laid off its entire real estate team and closed down the unit.

According to reports, Vishal Garg, the Founder and CEO of Better.com, has made the decision to close the entire real estate unit and terminate the entire team, which reportedly consisted of approximately 4,000 employees. 

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