Digital mortgage lender Better.com is conducting its fourth round of layoffs starting December 1, 2021, multiple sources tell TechCrunch.
The latest layoffs reportedly affect all departments.
Better.com is isn’t exactly known for its tactical approach to employee layoffs. And this week, the company – albeit accidentally – lived up to that reputation. Sources told TechCrunch that a list of the names of some people who will be let go in a layoff scheduled for Friday, August 26, was leaked internally on Tuesday, August 23. This reportedly led to the “immediate termination” of those employees three days earlier, according to blind post and information provided by some of the affected workers.
It is currently unclear how many people in total will be laid off in this latest round, but one affected worker estimated it would be “aat least 250 or more’ and that ‘they will all be on the US side’. Another source said the company appeared to be “going for higher corporate wages.”
TechCrunch contacted Better.com about the layoffs, and a spokesperson provided the following statement: “We’re making smart decisions to adjust to market dynamics so we can continue to serve our customers over the long term.”
In addition, the company is said to have introduced a new Leave of Absence Policy (LOA) which “dramatically” reduces the number of days off team members are entitled to. The new policy took effect immediately, according to documents shared with TechCrunch. Those same documents show that for those already on paid leave, the updated rules will take effect on October 1.
A spokesperson told TechCrunch that the move was designed to “protect” the company and “be smart” about its future, adding: “WWe looked at our policies where we were overspending and decided to reduce the areas to better align with industry standards.”
In less than nine months, the company has laid off thousands of workers multiple senior executives are stepping down and delayed the SPAC it recently said it was still working towards.
Notably, Better.com also recently announced a series of new executive officers which were no doubt not cheap for the company. One source told TechCrunch that “the company’s burn rate is so high that it likely won’t have enough to run in December without additional funding.”
Better, along with others serving homebuyers, has been hit hard by rising mortgage rates and a challenging macro environment, as well as questionable actions to its CEO and co-founder Vishal Garg. Earlier today, real estate technology company Reali announced that it did ceasing operations and reducing staff — after raising $100 million a year ago.
Reporter’s note: The title of this article was updated after publication to reflect the fact that the layoffs have not yet been officially implemented.
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