Coronavirus impact: Bounce founders forgo salary, employees take 20-60 pc pay cut
The decision of the bike-sharing startup will ensure that no jobs are lost, and hopes to restore the salaries to the original level once the situation returns to normalcy
The founders of scooter sharing startup have decided to not take any salary, while the rest of the employees have agreed for pay cuts in the range of 20-60 percent to tide over the very difficult business impact situation due to coronavirus.
The company, in a statement, said these salary reductions will be temporary in nature, and they expect to reinstate them once the situation returns to normal.
Bounce founders: (from left) Varun Agni, Anil Giri and Vivekananda Hallekere
The nationwide lockdown has severely impacted all segments of the economy, and more so for the mobility sector where all kinds of transports has literally been grounded.
A statement from Bounce said, “The three founders, Vivekananda Hallekere, Varun Agni, and Anil Giriraj have announced a 100 percent pay cut; while the rest of the staff has agreed to forgo 20-60 percent of their compensation.”
Bounce said the steps taken by them will ensure that no jobs are lost, irrespective of the economic situation, and it will also improve its runway for the next 30 months.
“The underlying idea behind this decision is that everyone in the organisation takes the impact equally and not direct it at a few. Bounce aims to withstand these tough times together, with all its employees,” the statement said.
The startup expressed confidence that it is looking at paying the due salary as soon as the macro-economic indicators return to normalcy.
According to Bounce, it took the decision after looking into the macro-economic conditions, which also had impact on its operational cash flow.
“After considering all these factors, the company took this decision as part of its long-term business continuity plan. The core idea is to conserve cash and keep the financial wheel running, while keeping its team on board,” the statement said.
Bounce said it was fortunate to have cash on its books as it had raised $105 million in January 2020 from investors such as Accel Partners, B Capital Group, the fund founded by Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)