OYO India to reverse pay cuts in phases, reinstate full pay by December

Budget hospitality chain OYO on Wednesday said it has planned to restore full salaries of its India employees in phases extending until December 2020.

Effective August 1, the Gurugram-based startup will restore 100% salaries of employees who receive a fixed compensation of up to Rs 8 lakh, a spokesperson said.

The first phase of salary restoration will affect as many as 60% of the company’s employee base across India and South Asia.

For the remainder of employees, the pay cut percentage will be brought down from 25% to 12.5% in October 2020, the statement added.

Late April, the SoftBank-backed firm had announced a blanket 25% pay cut in the fixed component of salary for all its India employees. The company does not disclose its total workforce count.

Full pay, an addition of the remaining 12.5%, will be restored in December 2020, the statement added.

The company had also asked some of its employees in India to go on leave with limited benefits (LwLB) for a period extending from May to August. OYO is yet to reverse its decision on the furlough.

In June, the company announced $18 million worth of company stocks to employees, both active and furloughed, in a bid to support its employees.

The company, since December 2019, has undertaken large scale layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts, citing significant revenue loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the outbreak, the Ritesh Agarwal-led firm was en route an aggressive expansion through international markets such as the United States and China.