Oyo Hotels and Homes is planning to layoff about 2,000 employees pan India across functions by the end of January 2020. The divisions like sales, supply, and operations will account for a chunk of the layoffs.
According to the company, layoffs are intended to save manpower costs and make some of its processes “more tech-enabled”. It does not anticipate the replacement of thousands of people in the near term.
In order to ensure that a “meritocracy-based” performance evaluation program thrives, every month Oyo tracks the performance of individuals and depending on the results (a grading-based system) and the individual’s interests, it may replace some candidates after giving them an opportunity to go through a performance improvement program, an Oyo spokesperson said, commenting on this plan.
The company spokesperson said Oyo does see technology replacing select roles in various business-side engagement buckets, but claimed that every such team member is given another opportunity. “For example, some folks from sales could become a part of the centralized customer service or business development team, and in order to make sure they are set up for success, we also provide them adequate training and support.
According to Economic Times report, the company plans to cut jobs in its corporate office. “They might just keep about 8-10 salespeople in each branch,”. In Mumbai, there was a team of about 180 people in sales. Oyo has fired about 120 this month.
Oyo Hotels & Homes’ net loss widened considerably in the financial year ended March 31, owing to a combination of increased operating and employee benefit expenses, according to a valuation report filed by the company with the Registrar of Companies.
