Better.com reportedly mulling layoff of nearly half its staff

Better.com could be gearing for a massive layoff affecting nearly half of its 9,300 workforce, according to a new report.

The embattled lender, still reeling from its December layoffs, could cut between 40% to 50% of its workers sometime in March, anonymous sources told TechCrunch last week. The report comes after executive resignations and massive financial losses detailed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report last week ahead of an expected merger.

Representatives for Better did not return requests for comment Tuesday.

Better is pursuing new executives in the wake of CEO Vishal Garg’s termination of 900 employees in a single meeting in December, a move that resulted in negative media coverage and subsequent resignations by company leaders. The bad press, along with a dip in refinances, contributed to Better’s poor performance in Q4 2021, it said. The lender listed a preliminary net loss between $167 million to $182 million, a 17% to 22% decline in revenue from Q3 2021.

Four more top executives have resigned from Better, according to TechCrunch, although just one, Clayton Carol, Better’s vice president of finance, confirmed his departure on LinkedIn. Another Better departure was revealed earlier this month on professional networking site Blind, TechCrunch first reported. An anonymous verified user shared an internal email revealing the resignation of head of real estate services Christian Wallace.

The departures follow the resignation of Sarah Pierce, one of Better’s highest-compensated executives, two directors and other public relations and marketing leaders who left after December’s layoffs.

The company is seeking a new chairman, president and chief human resources officer, changes stemming from a law firm’s independent review of company culture. Better last week named Sushil Sharma as chief growth officer, a new position. Sharma will oversee marketing analytics, CRM, growth and acquisition teams, according to an internal staff memo reviewed by National Mortgage News.

Better Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ryan, who helmed the company while Garg took a five-week absence following December’s layoffs, is serving as interim president.

The lender’s merger with special purpose acquisition company Aurora Acquisitions remains on track, according to the prospectus filed Feb. 11, Better’s most recent publicly available release.