BookMyShow reduces headcount by 17% to cut costs

Mumbai headquartered entertainment ticketing platform BookMyShow has reduced its employee headcount by 17%, laying off as many as 200 people due to sustained lockdown of cinema theatres and live events. The company had conducted a similar exercise in May 2020 as part of cost-cutting measures, impacting 270 workers. 

BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani, in a social media post, confirmed the news and asked for leads from other companies for the effected employees.  

“These 200 folks were handpicked and curated over years and had surrounded themselves with the highest values of culture, performance and empathy,” Hemrajani said. 

COVID19 has taught me many lessons & I learnt another one today. As we let go of 200 of the most incredibility talented & performance driven individuals, each & everyone has messaged, thanking me for the opportunity, the love for @bookmyshow and asking me if they could help (1/4)

— ashish hemrajani (@fafsters) June 10, 2021

This also brings down the number of people employed with the company to nearly 1,000. Prior to May 2020, BookMyShow employed nearly 1,450 people across roles.  

Questions sent to the company remained unanswered until the time of publishing the article. 

Earlier this year, the company had reshuffled its top deck to streamline core business and focus on new verticals, as ticketing for movies and events – chief contributors to the company’s revenues -- took a backseat due to pandemic related restrictions. The company had reported 8.73% dip in net sales for the financial year 2019-20 as its income from live events fell by 82% and share of ticketing revenue dipped by 38%.  

BookMyShow also launched its streaming platform, BookMyShow Stream allowing users to rent or buy movies from its curated collection.