The management of ride-sharing company Pathao has downsizedthe company by laying off nearly 300 employees, allegedly without any prior notice.
The local start-up, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said “this new path” would strengthen its core businesses “with an increased focus on efficiency.”
According to insiders, around 300 employees, including mid-level executives and some departmental heads, were laid off without any notice on Tuesday.
Many of them were stationed in different departments of Pathao.
When approached for a comment, Pathao Head of Marketing Sayeda Nabila Mahabub was reluctant to discuss this matter.
Later in an email, she said: “We have introduced changes across all major business lines, leading to significant organizational restructuring and cost optimizations.”
She further said Pathao was entering the next phase of evolution as the largest on-demand platform in Bangladesh.
“Our new comprehensive strategy will strengthen the core businesses with an increased focus on efficiency,” she said.
“Pathao is preparing for a future where our services are more accessible, customer-centric and reliant on technology. We are hopeful that this new path will help us stay ahead of (the) changing market conditions and ensure the company’s long-term success,” she added.
Pathao operates services in three main cities of the country – Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Besides ride-sharing services, it has ventures in e-commerce, merchant, courier and food delivery services.
One of the former employees observed that the company had gone to retrench its workforce when it was spending extravagantly on marketing.
