Accor India to rehire 1,500 employees laid-off during the pandemic

The French hospitality group Accor is going to rehire 1,500 laid-off employees. The group has bounced back from the effects of the pandemic through the reboot of domestic travel as international travel are still under restrictions. 

In a statement given to the Times of India, Marc Descrozaille, Accor’s COO for India, the Middle East and Africa told that the recovery rate from the brunts of the second wave is much higher than was anticipated. 

Marc said, “We have 6,000 employees in India. During Covid and either no or very low revenues, unfortunately, 25% of them had to be laid off. We created a fund for employees from the amount that was to be paid as dividend to shareholders just before the pandemic struck.”

So far the company has invited one-third of the employees to return to work out of whom some declined the offer as they plucked up on new jobs. 

Marc further said that though the occupancy rates are pumping up, the room rates are still lagging. According to him, as the pandemic is still prevalent, the hotels need to be strict about sticking to the COVID-19 protocols to ensure the utmost safety of the travellers. But, despite a hike in footfall, the outcome is still not matching the levels of the pre-pandemic period.