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Thousands of employees at tech giant SAP signed a petition saying they feel 'betrayed' by the company's 'radical' return-to-office U-turn

Business InsiderBusiness Insider · 1y ago
Thousands of employees at tech giant SAP signed a petition saying they feel 'betrayed' by the company's 'radical' return-to-office U-turn
Medial

Employees at German software giant SAP are protesting against the company's return to office policies. Over 5,000 employees have signed an internal letter expressing their dissatisfaction with the "radical" pivot and have threatened to quit. The company had previously encouraged remote work but recently mandated a return to the office for three days a week from April. The employees argue that they feel betrayed by the sudden change in direction and highlight the lack of salary increases over the years as an additional grievance. Other major companies, including Google, Amazon, Citigroup, and JPMorgan, have also implemented strict return-to-office policies.

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BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues

EntrackrEntrackr · 2m ago
BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues
Medial

BluSmart suspended its operations in April in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, asking its 10,000 driver-partners to return their vehicles. The move has left several drivers scrambling to find new sources of income. Rajesh [name changed], a 35-year-old man in Gurugram, secured a driving job with a heavily VC-funded electric vehicle cab hailing company which once aimed to take on the duopoly of Ola Cabs and Uber in India. An average income of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, Rajesh admits, was not much for his family but managed to pay bills. Though, Rajesh, who also is a father of two young children, put in 10 hours to 12 hours daily - to reach the estimated monthly income. With his company now pausing the services, Rajesh has no source of earning, and does not know how he will pay his kids’ education fees. "... Now, I don’t know how I’ll manage. I missed my kids' school fees this month. My family depends on me, and I’ve never felt so helpless,” a visibly stressed Rajesh told Entrackr. One of the things that is agonising Rajesh the most is the deceptive way his employer pushed them out. “On Wednesday (April 16th), we [drivers] received a message saying the car needed to be submitted to the hub for a breakdown. We thought it was just a minor technical issue. When we got there, they told us it was a failure and we’d be informed later. But there was no word from the company after that. We just had to go home. We were left in complete shock," says Rajesh as his voice strains, reliving the fateful moment. Rajesh says he was among the first lot of employees, when the company had just 50 cars. Like many others, he too bought the company’s promise of stability. “Now, it feels like we’ve been left out to dry,” he said. “I’m considering working with Uber or Ola… I’m looking for something else, maybe a different field altogether. But BluSmart was my livelihood, and I’d go back in a heartbeat if they reopened. It was my only source of income,” he added. Rajesh’s story resonates with another thousands of drivers who are now scrambling to find new sources of income after BluSmart’s sudden suspension of its services. Entrackr has reached out to BluSmart seeking responses on how they plan to compensate the affected drivers. In case they respond, we will incorporate their inputs. Staging the protest On May 4, a group of BluSmart drivers raised their grievances at Jantar Mantar, a historic site for protests. They pressed for demands for alternative income avenues as well as called for crucial policy reforms to prevent similar abrupt dismissals. Additionally, they also sought a government intervention. Tajinder Singh, president of Parivahan Morcha Athavale and also among those spearheading the protest, told Entrackr that women drivers of BluSmart were among those bearing the brunt the most as other taxi companies refused to recruit them. He further said that some drivers were working on a per day basis as and when required but asserted that this was not a long-term solution. “We are demanding compensation for affected BluSmart drivers. We have also sought government intervention so that the drivers can continue to earn their livelihood,” Singh said. Singh also claimed that hundreds of BluSmart employees working at charging hubs were affected by the company’s sudden suspension of its services. A business model that promised to be different than rivals Even as ‘sustainability’ remained the headline grabber, BluSmart also deployed a rather different business model compared to rivals Ola Cabs and Uber. The company used a full-stack B2C model wherein they owned and managed the vehicles whereas Ola and Uber work with independent drivers. The model allowed BluSmart to have a better control on the quality of cars, maintenance, and subsequently better customer service. For drivers, the company offered a fixed salary along with incentives. An assured income was a big factor why a lot of drivers showed interest in joining BluSmart. Ola and Uber, on the other hand, operated on a familiar commission-based system, also common with several gig working-reliant service providers. Singh also highlighted this stark difference between BluSmart and its rivals. He said that the job of driver was to pick and drop the passenger and earn a regular income (per day payout and incentives). They needed to work 10 hours to 12 hours a day. Other things like maintenance and documentation was taken care of by the company, giving drivers a more relaxed environment to operate. Blusmart has raised over $180 million to date, including its $50 million series B round in January this year. Though, it received only Rs 61 crore out of $50 million. That said, a heavily-funded BluSmart juggernaut appeared unstoppable, until it did. Earlier this year, reports emerged that BluSmart delayed salary payments to cash crunch. It had also shut down operations in Dubai and also saw an exodus of top management employees, including CEO, CBO, and CTO. A month later, SEBI published findings of its probe into Gensol Engineering, BluSmart’s partner and EV lessor. The SEBI order highlighted misuse of funds, and also barred promoters Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi from accessing the securities market and holding key positions in Gensol Engineering. What next for BluSmart drivers BluSmart drivers facing joblessness due to the shutdown can go for legal remedy and urgently demand clearance of any unpaid dues and better severance compensation, if not given already. The legal course, which may take a relatively long time, may also help them investigate if BluSmart violated the contract by sudden halting of their services and returning vehicles. Moreover, they can also seek intervention from regulatory boards. Singh, however, did not appear enthusiastic about taking the legal course. “Companies like these make such contracts that they keep them protected in such incidents and don’t have to own any responsibility towards people working so hard for them,” he said [loosely translated from Hindi]. As far as the future of the company goes, it’s hard to predict considering the massive VC money riding on the company. Despite the major dent in public image and also several legal troubles, it’s likely that the company may stay afloat with a rather new management and new board - a few known steps troubled companies often take to course correct. It’s worth noting that quality of drivers and cabs were the top highlight of the platform, and if it resumes, it should continue with that. With the ongoing protests and lack of communication between drivers and management, it seems unlikely that the company will enjoy the same level of trust from its network drivers.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [15 - 20 July]

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [15 - 20 July]
Medial

During the week, as many as 35 Indian startups raised around $261.21 million in funding. These deals count 9 growth-stage deals and 22 early-stage deals while 4 early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. During the previous week, 22 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised more $116.26 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 9 startups raised $168.63 million in funding this week. Home service marketplace Urban Company spearheaded with its $38 million secondary funding round. Education loan-focused NBFC Auxilo, fintech firm Blacksoil, and EV ride-hailing service provider BluSmart followed with $30 million, $24.8 million, and $24 million in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 22 early-stage startups secured funding worth $92.58 million during the week. gen-z focused fast fashion D2C brand Newme led the list followed by artificial intelligence startup UptimeAI, community-led mobility app Namma Yatri, NBFC Seeds Fincap, and multi-category biscuit manufacturer Nurture Well. Edtech platform focused on engineering education byteXL, EV bus startup FreshBus, and aquatech startup Boon also raised funding among others. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 12 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Jaipur among others. Segment-wise, fintech startups grabbed the top spot with nine deals. AI, E-commerce, Healthtech, and Automotive tech startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals led the list with 14 deals followed by 6 Series A, 4 debt, 3 pre-Series A deals, and 2 Series B deals. Angel, pre-Seed, pre-Series B, Secondary, Series C, and Series J are next on the list with one deal each. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding bounced back by nearly 125% to $261.21 million as compared to around $116 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $358 million with 29 deals per week. [Fund launches] PROMAFT Partners, led by industry veterans Raghav Bahl and Soham Avlani, has raised a significant Rs 1,000 crore to invest in startups. Yali Capital, targeting the deeptech space, has also launched a sizeable fund of Rs 810 crore. Additionally, real estate investment firm Altern Capital aims to raise Rs 250 crore through their first fund. Defence startup-focused Jamwant Ventures has secured its first round of funding for their angel fund. Excitel co-founder Vivek Raina’s incubator fund, Launchpad Kashmir, aims to support startups in Jammu & Kashmir. These developments highlight the growing investor interest in the Indian startup ecosystem. [ESOP buyback] In a move to incentivize employees, Swiggy, the food delivery giant, announced a $65 million ESOP liquidity program. This marks its fifth such program since 2018, allowing employees across the company to sell their stock options (ESOPs) in a secondary market. This program follows two consecutive events held in July 2022 and 2023. [Key hirings and departures] In key leadership moves, wealthtech startup Fisdom appointed Girish Venkat to head its wealth management business. Logistics unicorn Delhivery strengthened its operations by bringing Prashant Gazipur on board as a senior vice president. Additionally, Early-stage VC firm Orios Venture Partners bolstered its investment team with Madhav Tandan as a senior partner. In terms of departures, Bengaluru-based startup Simplilearn sees the departure of its chief product officer, Anand Narayanan, after an eight-year stint with the company. Meanwhile, Unacademy, another major edtech player, is experiencing its own leadership shift. Following the co-founder Hemesh Singh’s exit, Jagnoor Singh, COO of Unacademy’s offline centers, is also resigning. [M&A] Nazara Technologies, a gaming and sports media company, has fully acquired Paper Boat Apps, developer of the popular children’s learning app Kiddopia, for a total investment of Rs 300 crore. This follows their initial 50.91% stake acquisition in 2019. Meanwhile, Collective Artists Network, a talent management and influencer marketing firm, has bolstered its creator and content ecosystem by acquiring galleri5, an AI-powered platform, indicating a potential shift towards AI-driven strategies in the creator management space. [Potential deals] Moneyboxx, a lending platform, aims to raise Rs 271 crore ($32.4 Mn) through preferential share issuance and warrants. With the capital infusion, it plans to fuel the growth and expand its reach in rural India, specifically targeting micro-entrepreneurs for financial support. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Financial results this week] Paytm reports Rs 1,501.6 Cr revenue and Rs 840 Cr loss in Q1 FY25 Jio Financial Services reports flat growth in Q1 FY25 as interest income declines 43% [News flash this week] Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal book 200X return from Urban Company Moneyview set to turn unicorn in Series F round Google Maps cuts prices by 70% for developers after Ola Maps’ free offering Deepinder Goyal enters billionaire club; his holding in Zomato touches $1 Bn Nazara’s subsidiaries receive Rs 1,120 Cr GST notice Creditors may take over Byju’s as NCLT admits insolvency resolution Crypto exchange WazirX hit by cyber attack, $230 Mn stolen Trading app Investmint goes for liquidation process [Conclusion] The weekly funding bounced back by nearly 125% to $261.21 million. This week saw five startup-focused fund launches by VC firms: Promaft Partners, Jamwant Ventures, Alteren Capital, Yali Capital, and Launchpad Kashmir. This week’s startup news offered a mixed bag of stories. We saw some bright spots, like Titan Capital’s impressive returns on their investment in Urban Company and Moneyview’s potential unicorn status. Additionally, Google’s move to make its Maps platform more affordable for Indian developers is a positive step for the tech ecosystem. However, there were also challenges on display. Nazara Technologies’ hefty tax liability and Byju’s insolvency proceedings highlight the financial struggles some startups face. The cyberattack on WazirX raises concerns about security in the cryptocurrency space, while Investmint’s liquidation underscores the competitive nature of the startup landscape. Overall, the week’s news underscores the dynamic nature of the Indian startup scene. While there are opportunities for significant growth and returns, there are also substantial hurdles to overcome.

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