Exclusive: Housing.com refutes employees’ claim of mass layoff, calls it routine review

Over the past year, there's been quite a show in the tech world with companies saying goodbye to employees at an alarming rate. While some are tightening their belts due to the ongoing economic challenges, others are working to fine-tune their operations. Unfortunately, it's the employees who are left facing the brunt of these changes, often finding themselves shown the exit door. Sometimes, the farewell comes with the company's nod of agreement, and other times, it's delivered via virtual calls.

In an exclusive conversation with recently laid off employees from Housing.com, a digital real estate platform, People Matters found that the company has kicked out employees from various teams. The company has not yet confirmed the number of employees who have been impacted.

The former employee of Housing.com, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also revealed that he, along with others, was forced to submit a resignation in order to receive their due salary.

"In my recent performance review with my manager, I was commended for my contributions and encouraged to continue excelling and contributing positively to the company. Fast forward to today, I found myself in a situation where I was laid off during a virtual call with both HR and my manager. The HR conveyed the message, while my manager remained silent,” the ex- Housing.com employee told PM.

“I was left with no choice but to tender my resignation, as HR mentioned that resigning was the only way to receive my 60 days' salary. So, I submitted my resignation, and I now have a 60-day window to secure a new job,” he added.

The now former employee also pointed out that despite the company's request for details to aid the laid-off employees in finding new employment opportunities, there has been minimal to no action taken in this regard.

"In terms of assistance, they did request our information to assist us in securing new positions. However, there has been no communication whatsoever regarding this matter,” he said.

Talking further about the layoff, our source disclosed that around 10-15 workers from the product team were impacted by the layoffs, which sums up to “100-200 people approximately.” Furthermore, it appears that a similar scenario is unfolding across various teams within the company.

However, Housing.com reached out to People Matters, and refuted the news of layoffs calling it "unfounded and factually incorrect". According to them, the recent routine annual performance evaluation of employees is being "misconstrued as layoffs".

One month prior, Housing.com entered into a collaboration with credit infrastructure provider FinBox to introduce instant personal loans of up to Rs 10 lakh. The company's objective extends beyond personal loans, as it aims to cater to a wide spectrum of financial requirements for its customers, ranging from rental security deposits and booking token amounts to renovation costs and furniture purchases.

Housing.com, which is under the ownership of the Australian firm REA, serves as a prop-tech platform catering to homeowners, home seekers, landlords, developers, and real estate brokers. Its comprehensive array of listings encompasses diverse options such as new homes, resale homes, rentals, plots, commercial spaces, and co-living arrangements across India.

To share information about layoffs, pay cuts, or other workforce-related changes, kindly send us an email at samriddhi.s@gopeoplematters.com. We welcome your insights and contributions to our reporting.