OYO Hotels and Homes founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal will forego his salary for the rest of the year, while the company’s executive leadership team will take voluntary pay cuts in the range of 25%-50% amid efforts to mitigate some impact of the COVID-19 on business.
“COVID-19 has impacted the global hospitality industry significantly with occupancies of various hotel chains being affected drastically. In this unprecedented and difficult period, Ritesh Agarwal, has decided to forego 100% of his salary for the rest of the year, effective April 2020,” the company said in a statement.
It added that the company’s entire executive leadership team had taken a voluntary pay cut starting at 25%, with many opting for an additional uncapped amount, and some going up to 50%, to enable building the runway for the company.
Stating that the management had also taken several other measures to ensure business continuity, the company added that it had assured that all employees in India, including 10,000-plus OYOpreneurs on payrolls and tens of thousands of OYO-managed assets staff, including hotels opening post lockdown, that they would continue to receive their salaries and benefits without any interruption for this unprecedented countrywide lockdown period.
Mr. Agarwal said, “The current situation the world over is deeply concerning to each and every one of us. OYO is doing everything to support the world with its limited resources in this pandemic from making isolation centres to finding a safe place for first responders. Given the current business situation, which is unprecedented for our industry globally, I am foregoing 100% of my salary for the rest of the year.”
