Better Offers Separation Plan to Employees Following Mass Firing

(Bloomberg) -- Better, the online mortgage lender that drew criticism for firing about 9% of its workforce via video conference call last year and made additional reductions last month, is planning to cut its staff further through a voluntary separation plan.

The company is offering some of its corporate and product development and engineering employees as much as 60 days of severance pay and health insurance if they agree to depart, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. The offer was announced at a town hall at noon New York time, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn't public.

Employees under 40 years old will have seven days from receipt of the separation agreement to accept the offer, with their last day on April 15 and final payment on the same date, the person said. Those 40 and older will have 21 days to accept.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the voluntary separation offers.

Chief Executive Officer Vishal Garg sparked outrage for last year's mass firing, then apologized and took a hiatus after clips of the incident went viral. A month ago, New York-based Better began firing roughly 3,000 employees in the U.S. and India -- about 35% of its workforce -- as rising interest rates weigh on the volume of new loans.

Read more: Online Mortgage Lender Better Fires 3,000 in Latest Cuts

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