Vishal Garg, the chief executive of mortgage company Better.com, is facing massive criticism for the way he fired around 900 employees.
Garg announced via Zoom that those involved in the Zoom call had been fired by the company.
He stated, “If you’re on this call you’re part of the unlucky group being laid off. Last time I did [this] I cried. I wish the news were different. I wish we were thriving.” Despite his explanation, people have criticized the decision to carry out such actions in that manner. According to Garg, the dismissed employees make up 15% of the company’s workforce.
The chief executive of the UK’s Chartered Management Institute, Ann Francke criticized the approach.
She said: “Bad managers will fire people badly whether virtually or in person. But the callous manner in which this was conducted was just magnified by the fact that it was done in this sort of virtual and quite callous style. What we know in the pandemic is that empathy matters.”
According to Francke, the way Garg fired his employees could ultimately affect the company in the future.