Better.com, an online mortgage origination platform, has announced the closure of its real estate business, leading to the termination of its entire real estate team. The decision comes as the company faces difficult market conditions in the mortgage industry, prompting the need for restructuring.
Vishal Garg, the founder and CEO, Better.com, made the decision to discontinue the real estate unit, resulting in the layoff of approximately 4,000 employees. The uncertain mortgage market conditions have created a challenging operating environment, compelling the company to take this significant step.
TechCrunch has confirmed the layoffs, reporting that the employees of Better.com’s real estate team were let go on June 7. The company is transitioning from an in-house agent model to a partnership agent model as part of its restructuring efforts. Unfortunately, affected employees revealed receiving minimal or no severance after experiencing a salary reduction of over 50 per cent in November, which was implemented to protect their positions.
The closure of Better.com’s real estate business was not unexpected, as the company has been grappling with industry challenges caused by rising mortgage interest rates. Previous reports in April had already hinted at potential layoffs and the potential closure of the business.
This trend of layoffs extends beyond global companies, as Indian startups have also been heavily impacted. Over the past year, more than 27,000 employees in Indian startups have lost their jobs due to macroeconomic conditions. In the first five months of this year alone, approximately 8,000 employees from nearly 50 startups in India have faced layoffs.
These layoffs reflect the broader challenges faced by companies in both the global and Indian startup landscape, as they navigate through uncertain economic conditions. As the job market remains uncertain, employees around the world continue to face the impact of these strategic decisions made by companies.
