Hospitality company Ruptub Solutions, that owns and operates Treebo Hotels, has fired 100-120 employees, or about 20% of its workforce, as per a report by ET.

The reason for the layoffs is a large potential investment round falling through as per the report. The hospitality chain was reported to be in talks with the French hotel chain, Accor SA, for an investment upto $40 Mn as per reports. Accor operates across various price categories, owning brands such as Sofitel, Ibis, Raffles, Novotel, and Mercure. 

As per the report, the employees have been given a month of severance pay, and an assurance of a recommendation for a job. 

The hospitality chain had also laid off 70-80 employees last year after online travel agency MakeMyTrip stopped listing the company on its platform. At that time, the company had backed its decision on the back of technology adoption and less requirement of human resources.

The hospitality startup founded in March 2015 by IIT-Roorkee graduates Rahul Chaudhary, Sidharth Gupta, and Kadam Jeet Jain, had last raised $34 Mn in August 2017, led by Hong Kong-based hedge funds Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital. It operates more than 500 properties across 90 cities in India, with 10,500-11,000 rooms under management.

With OYO becoming a force to reckon with in the hospitality space, business in the hospitality market have been under pressure to raise larger rounds.