''Worked Hard To Be Kind'': Indian-Origin CEO Who Fired 900 On Zoom Call

In December 2021, Vishal Garg, an Indian-origin chief executive of an online mortgage company, faced immense criticism after firing about 900 employees over a brutal Zoom call. Now, in a recent interview with TechCrunch, Mr Garg revealed he's "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss.

He also revealed that he undertook a lot of ''leadership training'' in a bid to regain the trust of his staff.

'' I think I was very mission-centric, customer-centric, and really, really focused on what it took to drive growth. And I think I've learned now that in order for our customers to be delighted, our teammates also have to feel delighted. 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,'' he told TechCrunch.

When asked about potential job cuts, he said, ''I can't honestly tell you whether or not we have any layoffs in the future. I think a lot of that depends on the mortgage market. But we think that we're appropriately staffed and actually we're adding headcount in a variety of areas to drive growth.''

The Indian-American CEO said market efficiency, performance, and productivity were the reasons behind the mass lay-off in 2021.

"This isn't news that you're going to want to hear...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," Vishal Garg had told employees of the mortgage company during the Zoom call, according to CNN. 

The fired employees made up about 9 percent of Better.com's workforce. Among those fired were the company's entire diversity, equity, and inclusion team. 

At the time, he had also accused about 250 terminated workers of stealing from the online mortgage company by over-reporting their working hours, Fortune reported.

Mr. Garg later apologised for the way he handled the layoffs, saying, "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."

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, Better.com offers mortgage and insurance products to homeowners through its online platform. At present, Better.com has close to 1,000 employees.