Better.com CEO Vishal Garg back after month-long sabbatical

Founder of the US-based online homeownership company Better.com Vishal Garg – who took a forced sabbatical after he brutally laid off 900 employees in a Zoom call is coming back to hold the reins of the company, according to an internal memo. The memo stated that the SoftBank-backed company is confident that the changes that Garg has committed to provide the team at Better.com the leadership they need.
 
“As you know, Better’s CEO Vishal Garg has been taking a break from his full-time duties to reflect on his leadership, reconnect with the values that make Better great and work closely with an executive coach,” the company’s internal memo accessed by The Daily Beast read. It further mentioned, “Vishal will be resuming his full-time duties as CEO. We are confident in Vishal and in the changes he is committed to making to provide the type of leadership, focus and vision that Better needs at his pivotal time.”
 
Garg’s homecoming was not taken well by the employees of the company, according to an employee who spoke to The Daily Beast on condition of anonymity. “Nobody wants him back,” one current employee said. The employee further said, “I know… people who planned to leave if he retained the CEO position, and I plan to be one of them now.”
 
For the unversed, Garg stirred a hornet’s nest when he laid off 900 employees on a Zoom call that went viral. He started this Zoom call by telling his employees that he doesn’t have great news to share with them. “This isn’t the news that you’re going to want to hear but ultimately it is my decision and I wanted you to hear it from me. It’s been a really really challenging decision to make. 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,” he said.
 
He further said that ~15 per cent of the company’s employees will be laid off due to market, productivity, performances and efficiency. Garg then tells his employees in a pretty cold tone, “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,” He further goes onto say that his employees will receive an email from the company’s HR department detailing severance and benefits on leaving for all US employees.
 
The incident was condemned by everyone across social media including RPG Enterprises chairperson Harsh Goenka, Edelweiss Mutual Fund MD and CEO Radhika Gupta and Mahindra Group boss Anand Mahindra. Mahindra tweeted, “I’m curious whether you think a CEO can survive after a blunder like this? Is it fair, or not, to allow a second chance…?”
 
Edelweiss MF’s Radhika Gupta also tweeted and said, “A company that just received $750 million in funding and will IPO has to fire 900 people in holiday season this way? No [growth] is worth this human cost. It’s time we value compassion and dignity at the workplace as much as we do valuations.”

After widespread condemnation, Garg said that he had “blundered the execution” of telling his employees about the layoffs. “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,” he said in a letter. He further noted, “I realise that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse.”
 
Board at Better.com, on the other hand, engaged an independent third party firm to conduct a leadership and cultural assessment and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ryan managed the day-to-day decisions of the company.

Also read: Better.com CEO fires 900 employees on a shocking Zoom call; here’s all you need to know

Also read: Better.com CEO, who laid off 900 employees over Zoom call, taking time off with immediate effect: Report

Also read: ‘Blundered the execution’: Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apologises for terminating 900 employees on Zoom call

Also read: 'This is how corporates get heartless tag’: Harsh Goenka on Better.com Zoom termination shocker