Ahead of public market debut, Better.com lays off 900 in 3 Minutes

> People familiar with internal happenings in the company, which is set to go public in the near future at a $6.9 billion valuation, told TechCrunch that a few factors drove the decision behind the staff reductions.

> For one, the mortgage market is expected to contract pretty significantly after 18 months of rapid expansion driven by historically lower interest rates. ...

Given the tumble that long term interest rates have taken, with no letup in sight, this seems like an odd statement.

What the company is really saying is that it expects the mortgage market to contract, despite falling interest rates and at least no increase in mortgage rates.

Now that's interesting. Especially in light of Zillow's abrupt exit from the home flipping business.

Of course this interpretation may be too charitable, as the company appears to have some irregularities:

> New public filings, interviews with high-ranking company officials, and internal documents reviewed by The Daily Beast reveal that the executive, Elana Knoller, was given stock options potentially worth tens of millions of dollars. Unlike normal employee packages, it vested immediately. It isn’t clear how much the board knew in advance.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bettercom-ceo-vishal-garg-thre...

For me, this is one of those dodged-bullet moments. I was pursued by a recruiter there last July, and I'm damn grateful I bailed after getting bad vibes from their communication style.

In Dec 2019 I was laid off two weeks before Christmas for a similar reason, and I really feel for those affected by this with no warning or ability to plan at a time of year that's particularly difficult to get hired quickly. These folks are in for at least a month of unemployment, if not more, while companies get their Q1 in order.

Guess I'm going to stick with my bank for lending.

Better has lower rates, but a mortgage is not like buying a phone. If things go south I can't just eat the loss

Did this affect a lot of tech folks, or other non-tech front office/sales positions? Unfortunate close to the holiday.

Vishal Garg is a douche-canoe of the first order. He's also in the midst of lawsuits accusing him of misappropriating funds, as well as threatening the lives of colleagues. He's a fucking sociopath.