Better.com CEO apologizes after video surfaces of him laying off 900 employees by Zoom call

The boss from his stark, bare-walled video square starts the Zoom: "Um, thank you for joining. Um, I come to you with not great news."

Um, that was how a swath of employees found out they were out of work. "If you are on this call," they were told, "you are part of the unlucky group being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately."

It did not go over well. 

Now, the CEO of online mortgage company Better.com has apologized after the video has made the rounds on social and in news reports.

In a letter to employees shared by Better.com this week, founder and CEO Vishal Garg said he "blundered" the process of informing workers of layoffs after footage of his Zoom call was shared on social media.

"I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better," wrote Garg.

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The decision resulted in swift backlash. Several executives with Better.com have resigned after the video surfaced, reports Insider.

An employee with the company who received the Zoom call told CNN he tried messaging in company Slack channels to find out what happened before he lost all access to his email, computer and phone.

"It was a surreal moment," said Christian Chapman, a former underwriter at Better.com, during an interview with CNN. "It was one of those things that you don't believe it's going to happen."

"I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse," wrote Garg in his apology letter. "I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from this situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be."

Earlier this month, TechCrunch reported Better.com confirmed layoffs of about 9% of its staff, or 900 people.

Representatives at Better.com could not be immediately reached for comment.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.