A Bengaluru-based CEO is gaining attention online after he fired at least 70 of his employees and then, helped them to find new jobs. Harsh Pokharna, the CEO and founder of OkCredit, shared his story on LinkedIn about how his company had to lay off 70 workers due to budget limitations.
In a lengthy post on LinkedIn, he wrote, “18 months ago, we laid off 70 people. Here’s how it went: We were burning too much. Hired too fast. It was our mistake. And we owned it. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done as a founder. But we tried to do it the right way.”
After the layoffs, the company held individual conversations with each of the 70 employees to explain the reasons behind their departures, according to the post. “We gave them 3 months’ notice. Helped with referrals, intros, job leads – anything that could help. 67 got placed before the notice period ended. For the three who didn’t, we gave two months’ extra salary,” the post said.
The CEO also said generally, many employees affected by job cuts do not even receive a personal call, and learn of their termination only through impersonal emails. “That’s inhuman. Yes, layoffs happen. But how you handle them says everything about your culture. I know it’s tough to have these conversations, but this is what you signed up for when you became a founder. If you call someone “family” while hiring them, treat them like family when letting them go too,” Pokharna wrote.
Soon after the post gained traction, several professionals hailed Pokharna for his initiative. “It’s commendable that you’re being upfront about it, most people only talk about fostering a positive culture,” a user wrote. “Respect for handling it the right way. More leaders should follow this example,” another user commented