Better’s CEO Steps Back After Blundering 900-Employee Layoff

On Friday, Better announced that the company's Founder and CEO, Vishal Garg, would take a leave of absence after a little over a week since he made headlines by laying off 900 employees over a Zoom call.

After the call, Garg later apologized for how he handled the layoffs, saying that he failed to show "the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better."

In an email obtained by Motherboard, the online mortgage originator's Board of Directors wrote that Garg would be taking time off effective immediately after the "very regrettable events over the last week." In his absence, CFO Kevin Ryan will step in to manage the company's day-to-day decisions.

The company has also revealed that it has hired an independent 3rd party firm to conduct a leadership and cultural assessment that will be used "to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better." While the statement is vague, it does open up the possibility that Garg may not come back as CEO, depending on the assessment's outcome.

Earlier this week, Garg and Better made headlines across the country after 900 employees were laid off, effective immediately, in a last-minute Zoom call. However, that was just the beginning of the company's disastrous week as follow-up stories unearthed disparaging and controversial comments that had been made about laid-off employees, workers, and the company's lead investor.

In the fallout of the layoffs and other drama, Better's Head of Marketing Melanie Hahn, Head of Public Relations Tanya Hayre Gillogley, and VP of Communications Patrick Lenihan resigned.

It is unclear whether Garg's absence and the loss of several senior employees will impact Better's plans to go public this quarter via a SPAC merger with Aurora Acquisition.