Snapdeal was among the few to announce increments and bonuses as business has now returned to operating at pre-COVID levels.
Some startups have begun re-starting employee benefits and restoring salaries that were cut in the April-June quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic and country-wide lockdown. Online platforms such as Snapdeal announced increments and bonuses while UpGrad, Zomato, Ixigo and Grofers re-instated salary cuts, The Economic Times reported.
Albinder Dhindsa, co-founder – Grofers told the paper the company had been conservative due to uncertainty in operations, adding: “That seems to be stable now, so we reinstated salaries from July 1.”
Ixigo said it has restored salary cuts from July as pent up demand “was more than anticipated” after the lockdown eased. Aloke Bajpai, CEO – Ixigo told the paper they do not expect demand to lower beyond a particular level and decided to bring back salaries to February levels from July.
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Meanwhile, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal posted a blog announcing that salary cuts have been rolled back; and Snapdeal said around 700 employees would get increments effective from June 1. Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl told the paper they “felt it was the right thing for the team” as things were going well.
However, as some firms put chunks of staff on leave without pay and others gave out employee stock options (ESOPs) in lieu of salary cuts, employees are wary. One source told the paper that such “drastic changes in management decisions” was a deterrent to joining startups.
Experts say that startups had “extreme reactions” due to lesser experience in such market conditions. Questions around hiring process also remain, and industry observers expect lower enthusiasm for startup opportunities from potential recruits.
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