Well-being of laid off employees a top priority: OYO boss Ritesh Agarwal

OYO’s Founder Ritesh Agarwal has stepped in to take steps towards the rehiring of the employees laid off from the hospitality tech start-up. The IPO-bound unicorn on Saturday announced that it will downsize 10 per cent of its 3,700-employee base and will lay off 600 people as a part of its 'wide ranging' changes in its organisational structure while hiring 250 members.
 
On Monday, Agarwal reached out to tech firms hiring through social media platform, Twitter. He wrote, “For companies that are hiring in tech, reach out to us on talent@oyorooms.com & we will share a directory for rehiring our outgoing colleagues.”
 
He also wrote that he wants to ensure that the laid off employees receive as much assistance and support as possible. “I will proactively endorse the strength of these talented individuals, and support them every step of the way,” he said.
 

According to a statement received by the company, OYO is downsizing its product and engineering, corporate headquarters and the OYO Vacation Homes teams. Additionally, it plans to add people in the Partner Relationship Management and the Business Development verticals.
 
“It is unfortunate that we are having to part ways with a lot of these talented individuals who have made valuable contributions to the company. As OYO grows and a need for some of these roles emerges in the future, we commit to reaching out to them first and offering them the opportunity,” Agarwal said at the time of announcing the layoffs.
 
Recently, OYO reported a net loss of Rs 333 crore in Q2 FY23, down from Rs 414 crore in Q1FY23. The IPO-bound company also revealed its addendum that the revenues in H1FY23 grew 24 per cent to Rs 2,905 crore.
OYO also reported a 69 per cent increase in its gross booking values (GBV). GBV is the monthly revenue the company earns per hotel. Despite the reduction in losses, some of the company’s key expenses continued to increase as per the results. Its marketing and promotional expenses grew by 19 per cent in H1FY23 to Rs 400 crore from Rs 336 in H1FY22.