PaisaBazaar, the digital lending unit of PolicyBazaar recently said that it has laid off about 1,500 employees to bring down operational costs as the company’s business struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PaisaBazaar has a total of 3000+ employees which means that it has laid off almost half of its employees. Most of the laid-off employees had roles involving operations and business acquisitions.
An employee told Economic Times “Laid-off employees have been asked to serve a month’s notice ending 30 June, and close to 100 employees along with some senior executives, have been absorbed into Policybazaar,”
Paisabazaar provides all types of loans, cards and investment products in India. In 2019, the online platform had disbursed annual loans of Rs 10,000 crore. It helps people compare and choose from various financial products across categories such as personal loans, home loans, credit cards, education loans, car loans, savings accounts and mutual funds.
The online lending industry has been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with lenders reporting a drop in approval rate for new loans. This digital marketplace for loans has seen demand for new loans fall by almost 90% owing to the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, according to experts, there isn’t any sign of improvement in lending business for the next years well.
Startups in India have made some of the larges lay offs in the country. Similar high scale lay offs were announced by the likes of Oyo, Zomato, Siwggy, BookMyShow among others. Interestingly, even as startups lay off, traditional IT companies have more or less kept the same strength. They have in fact continued with fresh hiring as well.
