'Why fire people? Founders should take pay-cuts': Ashneer Grover wades into layoff controversy

Former BharatPe MD and the mercurial Shark Tank India season 1 judge Ashneer Grover has said today that he has never had to fire people because of bad markets since he always hired in a considerate manner. He added that one needs to think about the long-term as a founder. 

Grover wrote in his recent LinkedIn post: “It’s sad to hear about firings every day. I am thankful that I’ve never had to fire people because of bad markets- because I’ve always hired considerately. As a founder, you’ve to think about the long game.”

The BharatPe co-founder further said that he posted a salary reduction of 25 per cent to 40 per cent as an alternative to mass firings, while adding that he just does not understand as to why founders cannot make this choice instead. 

Grover noted, “I had posted about 25-40 per cent salary reduction a while back as an alternative to mass firings. I just don’t get why founders won’t go down that path. Everything gets repriced- energy, capital, technology. Why not people?” 

He added that he has put a maximum cap of 50 people on hiring in his upcoming startup – The Third Unicorn -- and people joining his team will only have to focus on growth. “Glad I’ve put on myself a max cap of 50 people in The Third Unicorn. People joining me will have to worry only about building and growth- I’ve got my team’s back,” Grover signed off. 

 

Grover’s comments come at a time when big tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Spotify, Amazon, Twitter, Cisco, and Salesforce laid off thousands of employees. Around 20,000 IT workers have been impacted by these layoffs since November 2022, according to a PTI report. 

Around 30 per cent to 40 per cent of those impacted are Indian IT professionals, a large number of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas. Not only tech giants, Indian startups have also laid off employees due to funding winter that impacted the startup ecosystem. Startups that have laid off people include Swiggy, Dunzo, inMobi, and GoMechanic. 

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