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US boss apologizes after laying off 900 employees over Zoom

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Agence France-Presse

<p>The CEO who last week laid off 900 employees in a single Zoom call has apologized after he attracted sharp criticism when the video was posted on social media.</p><p>Vishal Garg, head of online mortgage originator Better.com, convened employees over the video streaming platform and told them &quot;if you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group being laid off,&quot; according to a video posted online. &quot;Your employment here is terminated, effective immediately.&quot;</p><p>The mass sacking attracted social media fury, and in an apology posted on the company&#x27;s website Tuesday, Garg expressed remorse for the way he handled the layoffs.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/05/21/us-weekly-jobless-claims-fall">US weekly jobless claims fall; layoffs lowest in more than 21 years</a></li></ul><p>&quot;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,&quot; he wrote.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/22/20/women-bear-the-brunt-of-virus-fallout-in-workplace">Women bear the brunt of virus fallout in workplace</a></li></ul><p>In the Zoom call last week, the CEO justified the firings saying &quot;the market has changed.&quot; </p><p>But he expressed some regret, saying &quot;this is the second time in my career I&#x27;m doing this, and I do not, do not, want to do this.&quot; </p><p>&quot;The last time I did it I cried. This time I hope to be stronger,&quot; Garg said, speaking calmly and glancing at notes.</p><p>Last week, Better.com announced it had received $1.5 billion in financing from investors including Japan&#x27;s SoftBank, half of which was hitting its accounts immediately.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/01/20/layoffs-loom-for-beleaguered-us-airline-industry">Layoffs loom for beleaguered US airline industry</a></li></ul><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nExkaS6ot58?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The mass sacking by head of online mortgage originator Better.com attracted social media fury.