Better announces major layoffs after public listing

Better subsequently laid off about a quarter of its US mortgage sales and origination team, which underwrites the company’s mortgage loans, leaving only about 75 team members both in the US and India.

Jessica Schaefer, a spokeswoman for Better, told Insider in an emailed statement the company plans future hires.

“New projections and remarks from chair Jay Powell signal no near-term relief from elevated borrowing costs, so the mortgage market will continue to get tougher,” said Schaefer. “We are hiring more seasoned professionals who can sell in this tough mortgage environment and then making them 10x more productive through our technology.”

High interest rates impacting lenders

Better was founded in 2015 by Vishal Garg, selling fast, low-fee digital home mortgages. Since founding, it added an in-house real-estate brokerage and now offers title insurance and homeowners’ insurance.

The company’s growth skyrocketed during the pandemic after low-interest rates drove record-high refinancing, resulting in the hiring of 7,000 people. However, interest rates soared last year, causing Better’s purchase loan volume to fall more drastically than the industry as a whole.