Big companies affected by COVID-19
Image adapted from: Business Insider, France24, and Today Online
The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a danger to our health, but it is also adversely affecting the world’s economy too.
Major international companies around the globe are being forced by the economic crisis to make tough decisions. This includes laying off employees or asking them to take unpaid leave during this time.
Airbnb and Uber cut jobs
Image credit: Business Insider
San Francisco-based Uber plans to lay off around 3,700 workers – about 14% of all employees – after fewer people are using the service since many have been working from home and avoid going outside.
The company said they expect to spend around $20 million on the severance package for laid-off employees.
“I am truly sorry that we are doing this, just as I know that we have to do this,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in an email sent to the affected employees.
Image credit: Techno Buffalo
Famous lodging platform Airbnb has been hit hard by the recession too, as the company laid off nearly 1,900 employees globally, which was about 25%.
Airbnb said all departing workers will get at least 14-week of salary regardless of what country they are in. All workers will still have their health coverage at least until the end of 2020.
Airbnb is also allowing all employees to become shareholders, dropping an initial one-year tenure requirement before they could get a share in the company.
Furthermore, the company helps its staff find new jobs including launching a website for them to showcase their resume and letting them keep the company-issued laptops.
CEO Brian Chesky wrote an open letter to his employees on their website to remind them this was not their fault and that he was “truly sorry.”
Grab asked staff to leave without pay
Image credit: Today Online
As for Singapore-born Grab that Thai people know and love, the company began to ask its staff to take unpaid leave or reduce their working hours to help avoid laying off.
“We are taking active steps to conserve cash and manage our employee base before we consider layoffs,” Grab told Bloomberg.
They also admitted that “there is a lot of uncertainty as to the depth and duration of the pandemic and we don’t know how long the economic recession will last.”
We really hope this difficult time will pass soon.
Also read:
- COVID-19 Hotline Is Helping Migrant Workers In Thailand Cope With The Pandemic
- Bangkok Has Drive-Thru Flea Market For People Who Want To Shop Safely During COVID-19
- Bangkok Shabu Place Comes Up With Tables For Customers To Eat Together Safely After Closure Ban Lifted
- 28 Airports In Thailand Reopen After Lockdown Eased
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