Swiggy, which was forced to lay off its employees in May and July this year, due to the pandemic-induced lockdown and slump, is now recovering fast and how. It is offering its employees an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) liquidity programme, worth about seven to nine million dollars.
Existing as well as former employees, who were laid off during the pandemic, will benefit from this programme. This means, about 40 per cent of the employees at Swiggy will be able to avail of the scheme. Earlier, the food delivery startup had rolled out such a programme in June, 2018, when it had allowed employees a chance to liquidate their stocks worth about four million dollars. In the latest share buy-back scheme, some of the staff members may even be able to liquidate their stocks at three times the allotted price.
After being forced to lay off about 1,100 employees in May, 2020 and about 350 in July, to overcome the financial burden brought on by the pandemic, the Company has made a quick recovery post the unlock phase of the pandemic. In fact, business is almost crossed pre-COVID levels now.
It is not just Swiggy that is offering such an ESOP liquidation scheme as a reward to its employees. Meesho, the social commerce platform, is also rewarding its employees by allowing them the option to sell up to 100 per cent of their vested employee stock ownership plans. In this round, the present investors in Meesho will buy back shares worth five million dollars from employees.
