Following the extension of the circuit breaker period until 1 June, Grab has cut of its senior leaders’ pay up to 20 percent and may stop extra financial help for its drivers if the extension goes beyond 1 June. Grab Singapore’s head of transport Andrew Chan said in a note to drivers on Wednesday evening (29 April).
The largest private-hire and food delivery operator in Singapore is also reported to have encouraged its staff to take voluntary no-pay leave as Grab continues to suffer financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Chan said, “As our revenues continue to fall, senior Grab leaders have taken a pay cut of up to 20 percent and Grab staffs have also been encouraged to take no-pay leave voluntarily.”
“We had been hopeful that the stricter circuit breaker measures would be lifted next week and people can resume their daily lives. Instead, the circuit breaker period was extended to June 1.”
“We may no longer be able to provide extra financial support if the circuit breaker is extended past June 1.”
As a major e-payments player in the country, Grab has been providing financial support to its drives amid the pandemic.
For private-hire drivers, Grab continues to help by cutting its commission by at least 50 percent.
As for drivers who rent Grab’s car, Grab supports by allowing them to not pay any commission until 10 May. After that day, it is unclear if this support continues.
The financial support also comes in the form of a weekly payout of either S$45 or 85 as an extra income for the drivers until the end of May.
Meanwhile, it is still uncertain whether the rental discounts offered by Grab in the initial phase of the circuit breaker will be extended.
However the number of rides continues to fall sharply that it is not easy for Grab to extend the financial assistant.
“Extending the assistance was not an easy decision, Grab’s business has also been badly hit,” said Mr Chan.
“It has taken us a few days to confirm this for you, as we needed to reroute some funding.”
Grab staffs were also reported to have helped to fund the extension of the financial assistant by making voluntary donations – which were matched by the company.
The total value of the extended measures was not disclosed.
Although so, Grab will continue to create more job opportunities for its drivers, such as parcel and grocery delivery.
Separately, other taxi operators and SMRT were reported to have also been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
Should the circuit breaker period be extended beyond 1 June, taxi operator ComfortDelGro will have to prepare an additional financial support for its driver of S$17 million and S$6 million for SMRT.
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