OYO China lays off 25 employees over unethical practices, misconduct

The vacation rental and hotel giant, OYO China has also appointed an integrity committee to help ensure compliance across all levels and build on corporate governance in within the company.

OYO Jiudian, the Chinese subsidiary of SoftBank-backed hospitality chain OYO Hotels & Homes, has fired 25 employees, and issued warnings to over 100 more, as the Gurgaon-headquartered company sought to crack down on what it has described as “unethical practices.”

In a recent statement, the hospitality company, which commanded a valuation of $5 billion in its Series E funding round, said it had also formed an integrity committee to weed out instances of misconduct and unethical practices, while continuing to double down on corporate governance and ensuring compliance across levels. 

In its statement, the company said, “OYO China intends to lead by example and hence took this bold initiative to set up this integrity committee. While this may seem harsh and unpopular and has already elicited some reactions, the best decisions are the hardest ones,” Sam Shih, Chief Operating Officer at OYO China, said. 

The company, however, did not disclose the exact offences committed by the alleged perpetrators, except to state that the majority of the offences involved sums of RMB 10 (approximately US$1.48). It also yet unclear when these finings took place. 

The newly-constituted integrity committee set up by the company, mirrors the one set up by Chinese internet conglomerate JD.com, with representation from select senior leadership members and third-party representatives, according to the press statement. 

OYO also stated that it has delisted two hotels in the last two months, subject to fulfilment of quality standards and other customer experience checks, as part of its quality assurance program. 

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