San Francisco, June 10: The embattled online mortgage lender Better.com, run by controversial Indian-origin CEO Vishal Garg, has reportedly laid off its real estate team and has shut down this unit.

The company is said to be shifting from an in-house agent model to a partnership agent model, reports TechCrunch. The report cited an impacted employee as saying that they received "little to no severance, after getting a more than 50 per cent salary cut in November in order to 'ensure' our jobs to come". Tech Layoffs To Continue! Two Lakh Tech Employees Lose Jobs Globally in 2023 Till Now, More Sackings Likely in Coming Months.

It was, however, not clear how many employees were affected in the latest job cuts. In December 2021, Garg laid off nearly 900 employees over a Zoom call that created a furore.

In total, he laid off more than 4,000 employees in the US and India. According to the company, the uncertain mortgage market conditions created an exceedingly challenging operating environment for many companies in the industry. In March this year, Amazon signed a deal with Better.com to allow employees to use their shares in the company toward a mortgage down payment. Byju's Layoffs: Edtech Giant Planning New Round of Job Cuts To Reduce Costs, May Lay Off 1,000 Employees, Say Reports.

Better.com launched 'Equity Unlocker' that allows Amazon employees to use their vested equity as collateral for a down payment for buying homes. According to Garg, Amazon employees can finance their homes without actually selling their shares.

"Even though equity is a valuable asset, it is considered ineligible by most banks and financial institutions when calculating the necessary down payment on a home," said Garg.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2023 11:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).