Airbnb to Lay Off Up to 1,900 Employees in Effort to Ride Out COVID-19 Pandemic

Airbnb explained that it will try to soften the blow with benefits including providing 12 months of health insurance to laid-off workers.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 6 May 2020 12:17 IST

Airbnb to Lay Off Up to 1,900 Employees in Effort to Ride Out COVID-19 Pandemic

"Teams across all of Airbnb will be impacted," Chief Executive and co-founder Brian Chesky said

Highlights

Airbnb will lay off about 1,900 employees
The company will provide insurance to soften the blow
Airbnb recently announced new cleaning protocols to reassure travelers

Home-sharing platform Airbnb said on Tuesday that it will slash one fourth of its workforce -- some 1,900 people -- as the coronavirus pandemic crushes the travel industry. The cuts are needed for the San Francisco-based company to survive until people start travelling anew, Airbnb co-founder and chief executive Brian Chesky said in a blog post.

"We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill," Chesky said.

Airbnb explained that it will try to soften the blow with benefits including providing 12 months of health insurance to laid-off workers.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

The job cuts will be spread about the company's global operations, with a goal of tuning a more focused business strategy that returns to Airbnb "roots" of being a platform for sharing homes and local experiences, according to Chesky.

"Teams across all of Airbnb will be impacted," Chesky said.

"Many teams will be reduced in size based on how well they map to where Airbnb is headed."

Airbnb Gets $1-Billion Investment for Post-Virus Recovery

Airbnb added that it will cut investments in transportation, hotels or other endeavours that do not directly support hosts whose homes are listed on the platform.

Airbnb in April announced it was taking a billion dollars in new investment to endure and, it hopes, thrive in a travel world transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The fresh resources will enable the San Francisco-based company to invest in its community of "hosts" as well as local experiences provided along with stays in homes, Chesky said at the time.

Airbnb planned to focus particularly on long-term stays, from students needing housing to remote workers, building on a rising demand the platform has seen as people self-isolate during the pandemic.

The company recently announced new cleaning "protocols" to reassure travellers. Airbnb is also helping hosts with financial losses after guests cancelled travel plans.

In 2020, will WhatsApp get the killer feature that every Indian is waiting for? Samsung Galaxy S20 in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.