Oyo Denies Report Claiming It Will Cut 2,000 Jobs in India by January-End

SoftBank-backed Oyo Hotels and Homes will lay off at least 2,000 employees in India by the end of January, the Economic Times reported citing people close to the company.

The Indian hospitality startup plans to cut jobs as its business was dented amid rising discontent among hotel owners, the paper reported.

Oyo, valued at $10 billion, allows guests to book hotels through its mobile app and charges partnering hotels a fee on room revenue. It also franchises its brand and offers standardised amenities at hotels on its network.

"Oyo does see technology replacing select roles in various business side engagement buckets ... we, however, deny that Oyo anticipates replacement of thousands of people in the near term," the company said in a statement.

Last month, the company's internal projections showed that its India business will likely make losses until 2021.

The growing losses at Oyo come as its major investor SoftBank struggles to raise funding for a second investment fund, after the failed listing of office-rental company WeWork and amid questions about the path to profitability of other marquee investments such as Uber.