Better.com CEO, who laid off 900 workers over Zoom call, sued by ex-employee

New Delhi: Better.com and the company’s CEO Vishal Garg have been sued by a former employee, Sarah Pierce, for allegedly sharing misleading statements to investors about the firm’s financial prospects and performance. In her lawsuit, Pierce said that Garg provided misleading statements about the company’s performance to make sure the investors go ahead with a merger with a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). She also alleged that Garg did this to make sure investors don’t withdraw from the merger due to the company’s financial condition. 

The SoftBank-backed company has struck a deal to go public with Aurora Acquisition Corp, a SPAC company. The deal valued the digital mortgage firm at 7.7 billion. However, the deal is yet to close. 

In response to the claims, a Better.com lawyer told Reuters that the allegations were "without merit". At Better.com, Pierce worked as an executive vice-president for sales and operations. 

In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday (June 7), Pierce claimed that the company fired her in retaliation for raising concerns about the SPAC deal. In the lawsuit filed with a US district court, southern district of New York, she is seeking financial compensation.

In December last year, Garg fired ver 900 employees over a Zoom call, a move that faced heavy criticism on social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. "If you're on this call, you're part of the unfortunate group that is being laid off…Your employment here is now terminated," he told the employees. Also Read: “Approach local police if…” RBI clears stance against unregistered digital lending platforms

Garg stated on the Zoom call that this is the second time he has made such a decision and that he did not want to do so. He said he cried the last time he did so. Also Read: Sensex drops 215 points, Nifty down by 60 in volatile trade post RBI policy