“The global outlook for our industry looks grim and many airlines are closing or significantly reducing operations,” Akbar Al Baker wrote in the memo, dated Sunday.
Airbnb slashes 1,900 jobs
Airbnb is laying off 25 per cent of its workforce, or nearly 1,900 employees, the home rental start-up said, as the Covid-19 pandemic brings global travel to a near standstill. “Airbnb’s business has been hit hard, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019,” founder Brian Chesky said in a memo to employees.
The laid off employees in the US will get 14 weeks of base pay plus one additional week for every year at Airbnb, the company said. Airbnb earlier this year said it was allocating $250 million to help offset losses incurred by hosts.