OYO trashes Chinese media claims of massive layoffs, says hired 1,500 in China during past few months

Several Chinese media reports claimed that India's OYO Hotels & Homes has laid off thousands of employees at its Chinese subsidiary Oyo Jiudian. The Indian hospitality unicorn, however, refuted these claims as "absolutely incorrect", and stated that it will continue to be a leading job creator in China for years to come.

A report by Chinese new portal Jiemian.com claimed that OYO has halved its operations team in China and sacked at least a thousand employees from its business development team. The news outlet claimed that the layoffs happened on the orders of Anuj Tejpal, the chief business development officer at OYO.

As per the report, OYO's business development team originally had 2,000-3,000 employees. It further added that the employees who joined the team in February earlier this year were asked to leave.

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OYO, however, turned down the claims, saying that the "facts are being twisted and misrepresented". The Indian company confirmed that it has created thousands of jobs in China and will continue to do so in future.

"In the last few months, we have hired over 1,500 people and will have over 10,000 full-time employees on the roll. The presumption of any letting go is wrong, where regular monthly performance reviews are being twisted and reported out of context. Especially, since we just announced an investment of $100 million in China today, towards talent, customer experience, and quality & system improvements. We have also created jobs for over 200,000 people in China and will continue to be a leading job creator in China for years to come," OYO said in a statement.

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After making its mark in India, Ritesh Agarwal-led OYO entered China in 2017. Oyo Jiudian had recently fired 25 employees and issued warnings to over 100 more as a drive to curb unethical practices. The company had formed an integrity committee in April to check misconduct and unethical practices, along with strengthening corporate governance and compliance across levels.

(Edited by Vivek Punj)