CEO Laid Off 900 Employees Via Zoom Before Being Fired Himself

Vishal Garg, the former CEO of Better Homes & Finance, went viral shortly before Christmas 2021 after he laid off 900 employees via a company Zoom call.

Garg — who founded the digital mortgage company — was fired earlier this month, according to a Friday, August 14, report by CNN.

“He hoodwinked me,” Garg said about Daniel Lewis, the man who was named interim CEO shortly after Garg was let go. “He said he liked the company’s strategy. He praised us on X and used that to get on our board and win our confidences.”

Lewis reportedly joined the board on July 27, and within a week, he convinced directors to cut ties with Garg, per the outlet.

The outlet reported that Better’s valuation plunged from $8 billion during the height of the pandemic to just $300 million today, as mortgage rates near 7 percent.

In addition to its valuation decline, Better was also hit with a whistleblower lawsuit that was later dropped, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that turned up empty, and Garg’s leave of absence following the 2021 layoff drama.

“We’re winning. We’ve tripled loan volume. We’re close to profitability,” Garg argued, per CNN. “We were at the 5-yard line after taking the ball all the way down the field from the other side.”

He added, “[Lewis’] thoughts about cost savings were good. His ideas about innovation were not. It’s so much easier when we’re this close for someone to come in and say that they could have done better.”

“I suspect he always wanted to become CEO,” Garg added. “The board made a mistake.”