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A video of a CEO abruptly informing more than 900 employees via a Zoom call that they have been laid off right before the Christmas holidays has gone viral online.

According to CNN Business, Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, 43, announced this decision to lay off 9 per cent of employees sometime in early December 2021.

What happened

According to a recording that was later uploaded to TikTok, Garg began by sharing that he had "not great news", and that the market had changed so the company needed to move with it to survive.

He then delivered the news in a manner that has been criticised as detached and emotionless:

“This is the second time in my career I'm doing this and I do not want to do this. The last time I did this, I cried.

This time I hope to be stronger. But we are laying off 15 per cent of the company, for a number of reasons.”

He went on: “If you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here has terminated, effective immediately."

Some of the reasons Garg cited in the video for the lay offs included market efficiency, productivity and performance.

CNN Business reported that among those laid off were those from the diversity, equity and inclusion recruiting team.

According to NBC News, an employee who was laid off shared that his computer had gone dark shortly after the call, and that he had only received an email on severance compensation -- about four weeks' pay and three months of benefits -- hours later.

You can find the full recording here:

@wanderellaco #fyp #laidoff #savage ♬ original sound - Wanderella

No stranger to controversy

According to CNN Business, this is not the first time Garg has been embroiled in controversy.

In an email to employees that was obtained by Forbes in 2020, he said:

"You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS... SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME."

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Top images via @wanderellaco TikTok