WeWork India Lays Off 20 Percent of Workforce as Coronavirus Lockdowns Weigh

WeWork said that it has laid off 100 employees.

By Reuters | Updated: 19 May 2020 14:52 IST

WeWork India Lays Off 20 Percent of Workforce as Coronavirus Lockdowns Weigh

SoftBank Group has poured in more than $13.5 billion into New York-based WeWork

Highlights

WeWork India will lay off 100 employees
This will be the company's 20 percent workforce in India
SoftBank Group has invested more than $13.5 billion in WeWork

WeWork's India franchise said on Tuesday it laid off 100 employees, or 20 percent of its workforce, as the office-sharing startup joins a slew of firms that are cutting costs and revamping operations as a prolonged nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus has kept people indoors.

A number of Indian startups, including restaurant aggregator Zomato and food delivery service Swiggy, have cut down their employees, as they reshape their business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced 1.3 billion Indians indoors and crippled business.

"We have optimised and planned our team strength based on the core business, as we continue to execute our long-term business strategy in India and aim to be profitable by early 2021," said Karan Virwani, chief executive at WeWork India, set up by real estate firm Embassy Group over 2 years ago.

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In October last year, WeWork India's chief shareholder Jitu Virwani had said the company would be profitable by end of 2020.

SoftBank Group has poured in more than $13.5 billion (roughly Rs. 1.02 lakh crores) into New York-based WeWork.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

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