Will Better.com CEO Vishal Garg weather the storm or will he come out the worse for wear from his controversial firing of 900 employees over a Zoom call: That is the question Anand Mahindra has. In a tweet shared yesterday, the Chairman of Mahindra Group asked his 8.5 million Twitter followers to weigh in on the matter, writing: "I'm curious whether you think a CEO can survive after a blunder like this?" Mr Mahindra, 66, wondered if it would be fair to allow him a second chance.
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apologised for his manner of handling layoffs at the mortgage company after a video of him firing 900 people last week via a Zoom call went viral on social media.
After facing intense criticism over the leaked video, the CEO said in a letter dated Tuesday: "I realise that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse."
"Is it fair, or not, to allow a second chance...?" Anand Mahindra asked while responding to a New York Times tweet about Mr Garg's apology.
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…? https://t.co/sPDcr9qmYE
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) December 9, 2021
The post divided opinion on the microblogging platform as Anand Mahindra's Twitter followers weighed in on the controversial mass lay-off.
"Definitely not. For a CEO, lacking empathy and low EQ is pretty evident," wrote one person.
Your question “Can a CEO survive this? “. Definitely not. For a CEO, lacking empathy and low EQ is pretty evident. Not sure whom he was trying to appease. No wonder people nowadays have less and less pride in the companies they work for.
— We6 (@Venky27) December 9, 2021
Sir, it's not whether someone give him a second chance! It's about whether he has the empathy needed to be a leader !
— Ajaya Kumar V (@AjayaKumarVemul) December 9, 2021
"If he can give a second chance to all 900 who he disrespected... then would definitely deserve a second chance," a Twitter user said.
Empathy works both ways. From that perspective since he has good funding already by his side, if he can give a second chance to all 900 who he disrespected, handhold them to perform, with clear measure of success ahead he then would definitely deserve a second chance.
— Poonam Vijay Thakkar (@PoonamVT) December 9, 2021
According to a report in The Daily Beast, three top executives at Better.com resigned after the mass firing. The company's head of marketing, head of public relations, and vice president of communications have reportedly handed in their resignations, and more are expected to follow suit.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
