The mass layoffs at digital mortgage lender Better.com have reportedly started, according to employees and other sources at the company, and affected workers are finding out by seeing a severance check in their Workday account.
The layoffs were supposed to be announced on March 9, but one employee who wishes to remain anonymous said that they accidentally rolled out the payslips too early.
The checks were deleted from some people's Workday accounts when execs realized they had made a mistake. The company did not communicate with the employee about the checks.
The employee told me something.
Better Layoffs have started. Severance showing in our Workday app (which is payroll) as of 12 AM respective time zones. No email, no call, nothing. This was handled disgustingly.
The employee who had an inkling that the cuts were coming said that the leadership never acknowledged anything in regards to layoffs. They still haven't.
Approximately 3,000 of the company's 8,000 employees are being let go. The number would be 4,000 or half of the company.
Many people felt that CEO Vishal Garg was callous and cold when he laid off 900 employees during a meeting in December. Garg was vilified not only for the way he notified employees, but also for what employees described as verbal abusive behavior.
Employees at the company said that an email notifying staff that current market conditions had led to Better.com's mass layoffs was to be sent on the morning of March 9. Safe managers would be sent an email later that morning to take over the management of remaining team members. Employees who were impacted would be notified via email. An all-hands meeting was planned for those who escaped layoffs.
If you're laid off, you're supposed to get an email with instructions on how to return Better property.
Most of the impacted employees are in sales and operations, and most of the refinance teams are being let go. According to staff, a list of potential layoff candidates was circulating in recent weeks, but that the specific employees were only finalized in the last few days.
The package is for 60 days.
The antics of CEO and co-founder Garg, which included insulting staff and investors, and a reported history of verbal abuse, likely played a role in the latest decision. Better.com had to become more of a purchase business or one that helped people with new loans because of the interest market changing. The hit to its reputation has made it more difficult for Better.com to get new customers.
The company's business has been negatively impacted by macroeconomic factors. The layoffs were caused by higher interest rates and a drop in demand for re-financings. Interest rates are increasing. Inflation is not helping.
The layoffs were coming this week after hearing that they were in the works in February.
The resignation of the company's VP of communications and head of public relations, as well as the head of marketing, were among the events that followed the way the layoffs were handled. The first of many executive departures would take place over the next few months. Garg apologized for the mass layoff before taking a month-long break.
Better.com has raised over $900 million since it was founded in 2016 and $500 million of that came from SoftBank in a round that valued the company at $6 billion. Kevin Ryan, Better.com's CFO, said in an internal email that the company would have $1 billion on its balance sheet by the end of the week.
Better.com did not respond to the request for comment.
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Better.com plans to lay off about 4,000 people this week, sources say
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