India's Oyo lays off 600 employees as part of 'wide ranging' reorganisation

(This Dec. 3 story has been refiled to correct spelling error in first paragraph)

By Rhea Binoy

(Reuters) - Softbank-backed Indian hotel aggregator Oyo Hotels and Homes Pvt Ltd said on Saturday it is cutting 600 jobs in its corporate and technology departments.

India's IPO-bound Oyo will cut 10% of its 3,700-employee base, while at the same time hiring 250 people, it said in a statement.

Product and engineering teams are being merged to allow for smoother functioning, the company said, adding that downsizing in tech is also happening in teams which were developing pilots and proof of concepts such In-app Gaming, social content curation and patron facilitated content.

"We will be doing all that we can to ensure that most of the people we are having to let go, are gainfully employed," Chief Executive Officer Ritesh Agarwal said.

Oyo Hotels first filed to go public in October 2021 but it has delayed the share sale due to market conditions.

The company reported a net loss of 3.33 billion Indian rupees ($40.90 million) in the second quarter of the financial year compared with a loss of 4.14 billion rupees in the first quarter. The company's financial year runs from April 1 to March 31.

($1 = 81.4100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise Heavens)