BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover made his remarks after Twitter and many other companies started laying off employees from their platforms. He advised business executives through his LinkedIn profile and warned them against being convinced by the vast layoffs that Twitter’s new proprietor Elon Musk has enforced.
“Founders. Never forget – business has Cycles! You have to be ahead of the cycle – not consumed by it,” Mr Grover wrote. “We are going through a down cycle. Cutting costs is needed to extend runway. Firing people is fashionable – but actually optional,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“I have this concept of ‘real salary’ vs ‘paid salary’. In 2021, the real salary (at which markets clear) at which your employees were getting poached was higher than the salary you were paying. In 2022, the real salary at which people will find jobs (if at all) if you let them go is lower than salaries you are paying. So, if you think you will need people back – simply reduce salary by 25 per cent (40 per cent in case of tech employees) rather than doing mass layoffs. It’s a better solution as rehiring will be really uphill and costly. Reinstating salary is a click of a button away.” he added.
“Don’t be swayed by what Elon Musk is selling as couture. It does not fit your body type. None of you have bought over a business with your own money, nor do you own 100 percent. You carry the baggage of having built your team – he doesn’t – at least not in twitter. He is doing perfectly what is needed in an acquisition – not applicable to you at all.” he further added.
Disappointed by the way companies are laying off their members, Mr.Grover also shared a Twitter post, written as, “First Elon Musk, took over company, fired incompetent mgmt and then did layoffs in a bloated org. Most copy cat Founders are skipping the first hard part (of firing themselves or getting bought over) and conveniently copying layoffs.” The co-founder added, “What works in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) just does not otherwise!”
With this tweet, many frustrated and worried youngsters and Twitter users came up to reply to his post.
“Copycat has many takers but they will never be as successful as the originals,” a comment read.
“He indirectly showed us that most of the tech firms employees are ripping firms’ money without doing any significant work on their part. Twitter, Meta, and Amazon is just a start.” He referred to Elon Musk.
Companies not ready to invest in its people. They fire and hire. This is truth,” another person reacted.
Grover also advised CEOs not to pay attention to any permissions or suggestions from ‘so-called’ commissions or investors. He believes that investors never trade with people because investors only bring capital and not labor or business.
After acquiring Twitter, Musk laid off 7,500 employees. Twitter is not just the company that laid off hundreds of its workforce along with top executives. Recently, Facebook’s parent company Meta as well cut 11,000 jobs worldwide. Other companies include Amazon, Brainly, Unacademy, and Byjus.
More on Ashneer Grover
Ashneer Grover is an Indian businessman who co-founded the Indian fintech company BharatPe in 2018 along with Shashvat Nakrani and Bhavik Koladiya. Grover also appeared as an investor on the reality show called “Shark Tank India.” He graduated with a B Tech in civil engineering from IIT Delhi.
