OYO Hotels & Homes has terminated the lease contracts for two Gurugram-based corporate offices amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The SoftBank-backed company is also in the process of renegotiating a lease on the third office as it strives to cut costs in amid uncertain times.
Ritesh Agarwal-backed firm has vacated Spaze Palazo and Udyog Vihar (Gurugram) offices invoking the 'force majeure' clause, The Economic Times reported citing unidentified sources. Capital Cyberscape (Gurugram) is the third space whose contract lease is being renegotiated, the daily added.
Agarwal had recently told BusinessToday.In that OYO has been able to tackle the coronavirus crisis better because of its recent restructuring exercise. Last December, the company made an exit from 200 cities (out of 600 before) and laid off 2,000 people in India alone.Even as Agarwal didn't mention the retrenchment numbers in the COVID-19 period, he said that OYO did not do retrenchments other than geographies where they were required.
OYO, in April, had announced pay cuts and 'leave with limited benefits' options for its India staff. Company CEO Rohit Kapoor had said that the company is asking its employees to accept a cut of 25 per cent in their fixed compensation for the months of April to July. Some employees were put on leave with limited benefits from May till August.
OYO Rooms or OYO Hotels & Homes, is one of the largest hospitality chains of leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces in India. Founded in 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal, OYO initially consisted mainly of budget hotels but later expanded globally with thousands of hotels, vacation homes and millions of rooms.
