As a national lockdown started at the end of March, The Ministry of Labour and Employment requested private and public organisations not to terminate employment based on prevailing conditions. Yet these efforts made no difference and significant cuts took place as companies were struck because of the continuing crisis.
Jobs collapsed in the nation of 1.3 billion people, forcing companies to shut down and raising the unemployment rate to 27.1 per cent, surveys showed by the Center For Monitoring Center Indian Economy (CMIE).
According to CMIE, daily wage earners and those employed by small businesses have suffered an enormous blow. These include hawkers, roadside vendors, construction workers, and many who live by pushing handcarts to rickshaws.
Below is a list of several businesses that have laid off their employees or implemented pay cuts to cope with the pandemic-related drop in revenue:
Ride-hailing services Ola said that it would lay off 1,400 workers. In March, the government had suspended all ride-hailing services and all other forms of public transportation while enforcing the lockdown.
ShareChat, an Indian video-sharing social networking service backed by Twitter, laid off 101 employees.
Reuters reported that U.S. based commercial real estate company WeWork laid off 100 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce in India, in an attempt to cut costs and revamp operations.
Food delivery company Swiggy reported that it would lay off 1,100 employees, almost 14 per cent of its total staff. The move comes following a sharp decrease in demand for online food order over the past two months.
Zomato laid off 13 per cent of its employees and announced for at least six months that it would introduce wage cuts of up to 50 per cent employees across the organisation.
Uber sacked 600 workers from his office in India because of a sharp decline in revenues.
Reliance Industries announced pay reductions of up to 50 per cent for some top employees of the oil and gas division. Employees earning more than Rs 15 lakh a year will face a 10-per-cent cut. At the same time, senior executives will have to slash salaries by 30-50%.
Oyo Rooms said it would slash all employees' salaries by 25 per cent for four months, and also sent some of its staff on leave with minimal benefits.
Times Life, a Times of India-produced Sunday supplement, asked three of its workers to quit. Two editors and one designer were briefed orally about their sacking. Before the layoffs, the supplement had six editors and two designers in total.
News website The Quint sent 45 workers on indefinite unpaid leave. The affected workers were to be paid half their wages for April.
News Nation Network unexpectedly laid off its entire English media team of 15. The workers were not given a notice of termination, nor were they permitted to complete their periods of notice.
The Indian Express had asked its employees to take a "temporary salary break."
While the companies are sacking employees amidst the Coronavirus Crisis, The Indian Express's Chief Editor Raj Kamal Jha, Chairman Anant Goenka and Director Vaidehi Thakkar took a pay cut of 100 per cent. Also, Reliance Industries Chairperson Mukesh Ambani decided to forgo his entire salary for the year.
Meanwhile, when some companies are firing their employees, TATA Group has promised the placed students that they will not be terminating their placements. Also, Goldman Sachs has vowed to offer 1,460 job opportunities for Indians, especially for graduates. Even, Asian Paints is setting an example by not laying off any of its employees, raising staff salaries or going with annual increments.
Last month, the world's biggest lockdown forced 12.2 crores, people, out of jobs in India, according to estimates from a leading private-sector think tank.
Now when the lockdown is further expected to extend beyond 31st May 2020, there are expectations of more job losses in India. But, the real problem is finding a new job amidst the current situation. As most of the companies are either firing employees, imposing pay cuts or not hiring new employees. Amidst the ongoing job crisis, the worst hit is the youngsters who were just about to begin their career.
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