“We are taking active steps to conserve cash and manage our employee base, before we consider layoffs,” the company said in response to queries from Bloomberg News. “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.”
Grab CEO Anthony Tan warned last week that the coronavirus is creating significant challenges that will require “tough decisions” about cutting costs and managing capital.
On-demand service companies have been hit hard in the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. Responding to plunging demand for rides, Lyft Inc. said this week it will eliminate the jobs of almost 1,000 employees across the company, or about 17% of its workforce.
