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The Almighty Buck Businesses

Better.com Employees Learned of Layoffs When Severance Checks Appeared In Payroll App (techcrunch.com) 60

Posted by BeauHD from the poorly-executed dept.
The mass layoffs at digital mortgage lender Better.com have reportedly started, according to employees and other sources at the company, and affected workers are finding out by seeing a severance check in their Workday account -- the company's payroll app. TechCrunch's Mary Ann Azevedo reports: The layoffs were meant to be announced by the company on March 9, but one employee -- who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of repercussions -- told TechCrunch that "they accidentally rolled out the severance payslips too early." Better.com execs reportedly planned the layoffs for March 8 but moved the date to March 9 when news of the initial date leaked. Apparently, when execs realized their mistake, they deleted the checks from some people's Workday accounts. According to the employee, the severance checks arrived without any additional communication from the company.

The employee told me: "Better Layoffs have started. Severance showing in our Workday app (which is payroll) as of 12 AM respective time zones. No email, no call, nothing. This was handled disgustingly." The employee -- who had an inkling that the cuts were coming -- added: "Leadership remained absolutely silent, never acknowledged anything in regards to layoffs. They still haven't." An estimated 3,000 of the company's 8,000 employees in the U.S. and India are being let go.

It is notable that the missive came from [CFO Kevin Ryan] and not CEO Vishal Garg, who suffered severe backlash after laying off 900 employees during a Zoom meeting in early December in what many considered to be a cold and callous manner. The video went viral globally and Garg was vilified not only for the way he notified employees, but for what employees described as verbally abusive behavior. [...] Ryan wrote that the company "had to adjust to volatility in the interest rate environment and refinancing market." He added: "Unfortunately, that means we must take the difficult step of streamlining our operations further and reducing our workforce in both the U.S. and India in a substantial way. This has not been an easy few months, and I want to express my sincere thanks to every member of the Better team for your hard work and focus," he added. "Our strongest days lie ahead."
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Better.com Employees Learned of Layoffs When Severance Checks Appeared In Payroll App More

Better.com Employees Learned of Layoffs When Severance Checks Appeared In Payroll App

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  • Then there is no excuse.

    • Then there is no excuse.

      Well, technically HR is quite busy laying off employees, so if you're measuring by workload, well...

    • well if you have ever dealt with HR / Payroll systems and third party processors you'd know that most require that funds be deposited a few days before the issuance to the employee; it's a common practice.

      I worked for a startup in the 90s and when payroll was late a day or two it started raising red flags throughout the organization. It seems that board members were posting payroll funds out of their private accounts and HR was always in a scramble to get it to the payroll processor within their window for

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dgatwood ( 11270 )

        well if you have ever dealt with HR / Payroll systems and third party processors you'd know that most require that funds be deposited a few days before the issuance to the employee; it's a common practice.

        Still, you would think they could have done Better.

        • How so? It's not HR's job to communicate the business plan, that's the CEO via the Board. It sounds like their a bit crap but if you as an employee decided to stay months after the Zoom fiasco then maybe this will give you the impetus to GTFO when you can.

          In the 90s I worked for an aerospace company, something I'll never do again. We were all given a nice presentation by the CIO at an all-hands showing how other divisions in the company had laid off workers, some as much as 45% over the past year alone. He

    • At my last job several people were NOT notified of their layoff; their computer accounts were just deleted. Those of us who were left had to read the company-wide email message to our unfortunate ex-co-workers. They were paid off generously so it could have been worse, but still...

  • Incidents like this just amaze me at the level of incompetence. I miss the days of spending lunch time reading through all these kinds of stories on that website. I'm kind of surprised nothing like it ever replaced it.

    • Define "competence". They've kept the layoffs as secret as possible as long as possible, to preserve the manpower they with to keep and avoid flight of their best employees. It's a very old and very popular tactic.

      • Define "competence". They've kept the layoffs as secret as possible as long as possible, to preserve the manpower they with to keep and avoid flight of their best employees. It's a very old and very popular tactic.

        The thing is, employee flight is going to happen once job shedding like this starts. The fact it was fumbled at the last minute will only encourage staff to walk.

        Better.com gives all the appearances of a company in terminal decline. Maybe they can switch tactics and become an NFT marketplace instead.

    • Having had to wait weeks before for severance, getting them out a little early is so much better.

  • If they take my stapler, I’ll have to, I’ll set the building on fire

  • . . . when I saw an off-cycle payroll run. It turns out that I had been laid off, but then it was rescinded before I would have been officially notified. Payroll didn't get the word to keep everything looking normal.

    My payroll was screwed up for weeks, and I didn't receive any extra compensation for the inconvenience of having to scramble to ensure my checking account had enough funds for regularly-scheduled payments. I did finally receive all the regular pay I was due, but none of the penalties my state mi

    • Good that it was rescinded but I'll bet that motivated you to get out of there and find another job.

    • California effectively requires a paper check for final payment; you are still an employee until it is square...

      • California effectively requires a paper check for final payment; you are still an employee until it is square...

        Since California is trying to tax the shit out of you no matter where you abscond to, this isn't really a "brag" anymore.

        Your "final" payment, isn't likely your final payment, but hey...have fun with that shit.

        • If conservative talk show personalities spent more time focusing their listener's idle mental capacity on practical solutions to real problems as they did just cycling through their list of boogeymen to keep the fear and anger levels ratcheted up, this country would be a far better place.

  • "had to adjust to volatility in the interest rate environment and refinancing market."

    So, these guys were essentially bottom-feeders who could only exist when things were good and fluffy and safe. Now that money is tighter, they can't survive. This reminds me of Enron.

    • Now that money is tighter, they can't survive.

      They are a mortgage company. When interest rates rise, home sales fall. They will survive by shrinking and shedding employees. If interest rates decline, they can expand again. That is the nature of the business.

      If the employees want reliable jobs, they should switch to a different industry.

      • Uh, in this crazy housing market, I'm still trying to understand why a mortgage company, needs to shed employees.

        The value of homes, is still obscene. Demand, is still obscene. And prices are still obscene.

        And quite frankly, any mortgage under 5% historically? No one should be bitching about. And we're still there.

        • Uh, in this crazy housing market, I'm still trying to understand why a mortgage company, needs to shed employees.

          The value of homes, is still obscene. Demand, is still obscene. And prices are still obscene.

          The industry appears to disagree with you. Economic statistics and facts seem to disagree with you, as well.

          Home-price growth, which has been in the double digits since Summer 2020, is expected to slow to an annual rate of 7% by the end of 2022, according to a new forecast by Redfin economists. Home sales are expected to remain relatively flat throughout the year, similar to the small annual rate of change they have been posting since August due to the ongoing shortage of homes for sale. Redfin economis

          • A 2% drop after an insane 25% run-up, amounts to a fart in high wind regarding impact. And an 11% drop in listings will soon be replaced with a 20% jump due to new construction, which means you need a ton of people to process loans.

            Not everyone needs a fancy sports car. Everyone needs a place to live. We tend to have to meet new home demand, and we are with a considerable amount of new construction. On top of that, the market in general is due for a major correction. With prices still inflated into the

            • Do you understand how mortgage lenders operate?

              They can't make money on FUTURE construction that's 'just around the corner', they make there money when homes change hands. And the prices of houses increasing as the number of houses changing hands decreases doesn't necessarily translate to increasing revenue for the mortgage company.

              In a hand full of months, better has effectively halved its workforce in two botched events. Do you think homebuyers are seriously considering using Better to finance their new h

            • A 2% drop after an insane 25% run-up, amounts to a fart in high wind regarding impact.

              Right.. Because companies didn't go on a hiring spree after that 25% run-up... And you have all the answers. All the people in the industry are just idiots..

              Well.. Go start a real-estate company. You'll make a lot of money if you're correct.

    • Now that money is tighter, they can't survive. This reminds me of Enron.

      What kind of a idiot keeps a bloated staff, draining the company's financial reserves, when work slows down? What the fuck would you do? Exacerbate the problem by burning through whatever cash you have left by keeping a bunch of people on the payroll who have NOTHING TO DO, since there is NO WORK?

      You realize most of the employees still have jobs, right? A lot of folks were let go, but most are staying. Let's keep everyone on staff and then lay-off everyone when the company finally collapses due to expe

      • What kind of a idiot keeps a bloated staff, draining the company's financial reserves...

        The idiot who bloated the staff, and then started the first layoff over a fucking Zoom call. That idiot. This 50% layoff is indicative of management idiocy.

        • What kind of a idiot keeps a bloated staff, draining the company's financial reserves...

          The idiot who bloated the staff, and then started the first layoff over a fucking Zoom call. That idiot. This 50% layoff is indicative of management idiocy.

          It's not half.. it's 3,000 out of 8,000 which is closer to 1/3 than 1/2. 37.5% to be exact. Strangely, every news article I have read keeps saying "almost half" which is a lie. It's not almost half. It's a bit more than 1/3. Why do they keep saying "almost half"? Why did you say 50% when it's not? Is it to make it sound worse? Why are you trying to manipulate the facts?

          Moving on. So is the argument that the "bloated staff" should never have existed in the first place? Are the people being laid off a

  • It was once said that the success of an organization, was based on results....but the character of an organization was based on how it achieves them.

    How this CEO asshole, still had employees working for him after the first Fuck-You move, I have no idea.

    But after another FUCK-YOU move, society tends to question whether or not employees have morals or not.

    Leave. Now. It's the only way assholes will be taught a lesson on how to treat fellow humans.

    • Leave. Now. It's the only way assholes will be taught a lesson on how to treat fellow humans.

      Yes. Walk away from your employment! Give up your access to Unemployment Insurance by voluntarily quitting. Make a stand!

      Keyboard activist...

      • Or find another job before you walk away from a toxic environment; that works too.

        • Or find another job before you walk away from a toxic environment; that works too.

          That's the intelligent way to do it.

      • Since it is unlikely you will be able to sue for harassment [nolo.com], perhaps you'd be better off telling your boss exactly what he can do with that attitude, instead of quitting?

        So instead of the company actively harrassing you out (but always, just under the legal definition), harass them into firing you? Is that what you're saying?

  • Twice I've been laid off from a startup that failed. Neither time was there any actual severance payment. One of the companies still owes me $14,000 in missed payrolls, 15 years later. I'll never see that money.

    I do hope these people are able to find new work.

    • Twice I've been laid off from a startup that failed. Neither time was there any actual severance payment. One of the companies still owes me $14,000 in missed payrolls, 15 years later.

      Yeah, and I should have been an internet millionaire by now, from the dot-com I worked for in 1999.

      You can imagine what happened next.

      Perhaps avoid the word "startup" in your job searches next time. We've only had 20 years to learn that lesson.

      • Yep, those were crazy years. The first one that folded was in 1996, the second was in 2005. Never did believe the whole millionaire hype, but it was a good ride while it lasted.

  • This company's name is becoming like an ironic joke. The only thing they seem to do better is fuck everything up.

  • If they had worked any hours between the time period covered by their paycheque and when they received the email, the employer is going to be on the hook for any hours worked in that interim. If their final paycheque included an advance pay that covered their hours, then they could be in the clear on that front.

    Also, in many jurisdictions the time of dismissal is when the employee learns they are let go, not when the notice might have actually been issued by the employer (via email, text message, teleph

  • At the last place I was at, they were doing quarterly layoffs (for the past 4 years before I left 16 months back). If you watched your paystub in the app, you could tell if you were being let go a day or two before they let you go if you all of a sudden had an increase outside a normal payday.

    [John]

  • "digital mortgage lender Better.com"

    "the company’s 8,000 employees in the U.S. and India"

    Sounds "digital" all right. What did this company think it needed 8000 employees for, if it had computers to do all the work? Why does it think it needs 5000? Front-end developers? Back-end developers? Middleware specialists? Speakers to bankers?

  • Apparently our plant was closing and we were all losing our jobs. We didn't know of course, but a press release along with a moratorium was given to the media. Unfortunately this was done by our office one state over, the office which didn't know the difference between Australian Eastern Standard Time and Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

    Our calendar has a nice all hands meeting for 11am.
    At 10am we were watching the morning news on TV in the lunchroom and got the bad news, ... and some guy walked in after g

    • Apparently our plant was closing and we were all losing our jobs. We didn't know of course, but a press release along with a moratorium was given to the media. Unfortunately this was done by our office one state over, the office which didn't know the difference between Australian Eastern Standard Time and Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

      Our calendar has a nice all hands meeting for 11am.
      At 10am we were watching the morning news on TV in the lunchroom and got the bad news, ... and some guy walked in after getting a snack from down the road asking why there are news trucks everywhere...

      Iditos. Nah not even going to correct that spelling mistake, HR don't deserve it.

      At least you saw it on the news.

      Some 25 years ago now, I was working for a company on the Sunshine Coast who put TV sets connected to customized Amigas running Scala InfoChannel into clubs. We knew things were getting dark, but rocking up to the office that morning to be told to see the CFO and told that the company was bust and no severance was still gutting. I took the necessary forms to the Centrelink office (or whatever it was call then), and as I was standing in line to register for unemployment my p

      • Yeah luckily we didn't have any bastards like that in charge and in this case it was a legitimate error. Still it would have been better to get the news from the plant manager in person rather than seeing our plant on channel 7 in the break room.

        That said it was all rather strange. On the one hand we weren't making money. On the other hand projects hadn't been stopped. We were pouring cement for a new unit on the same day it would be announced the plant will close. The project had a second all hand meeting

  • Plus what they do amounts to taking advantage of people who really can't afford the mortgages that they end up with.
  • To be fair, layoffs are hard to do and not always evil. I had to layoff all my employees when my company lost all revenue. I stopped paying myself months before, and I'm not rich. It's hard to time everything right, while people want to be notified first, there would be hell to pay if they had to wait weeks or months to be given severance pay after being told it was coming so it's a good thing (not evil) to organize paying severance in advance. Also, it's almost impossible to fire or layoff someone withou

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