NEW DELHI: Scooter rental platform Bounce on Monday announced to lay off 130 employees or 22 per cent of its total workforce, a decision which is an outcome of a change in its business priorities in COVID-19 times.
Bounce grew from a few hundred rides per day to over 25 million rides in under 18 months in Bengaluru alone but shared mobility startups have been hugely impacted .
“We are reinstating the salary of the employees leaving us to the amount before the cuts were announced in April this year. As part of the exercise, the entire deferred amount will be given to them,” said Bounce Co-Founder and CEO Vivekananda Hallekere.
All employees leaving will be given a severance of three months’ salary, as per their original salary before the salary cuts.
“We are giving them the option of taking this amount in one go or credited to their accounts monthly. This is to ensure continuity of salary credit,” Hallekere said in a statement.
The Bengaluru-based firm earlier announced to cut salaries across the board.
The company said it would provide health insurance for impacted staff until December.
The shared mobility start-up in January this year received $105 million (Rs 749 crore) series D venture capital funds infusion led by Accel and the B Capital Group.
Before the lockdown, it ran dockless scooters in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with a fleet strength of 13,000 and 2,000 vehicles, respectively.
Bounce had resumed its operations in Bengaluru and Hyderabad in May.