Executives claim more jobs to be cut in near future

Executives have alluded to the number of layoffs planned to be "far larger" than originally expected though Oyo itself denies the claim.

Job cuts at Oyo, across multiple roles and business functions, are likely to intensify, said senior company executives, as the SoftBank-backed hotel chain struggles to rein in costs and shore up its bottom line.

The magnitude of the firings may be “far larger” than expected, they said on the condition of anonymity. A significant chunk of the 12,000-strong workforce at the Gurgaon-headquartered company is likely to be impacted by the aggressive retrenchment move, they said.

An Oyo spokesperson denied that there were further retrenchments in the offing and said that such information is “factually incorrect and misleading.”

The layoffs are happening even as Oyo is reportedly battling allegations ranging from anti-competitive practices to tax evasion, among others.

Valuation Under Scanner

Its position as India’s second most valuable startup – deemed to be worth $ 10 billion — has also come under scanner, especially after Founder and group CEO Ritesh Agarwal undertook a $2.5-billion financing round last year in order to buy out early investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital, and increase his stake in the company to about 30%.

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