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Today’s top tech news: OYO cuts jobs in the US, Facebook fights coronavirus misinformation

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SoftBank-backed Indian hospitality chain OYO cuts jobs in US – DealStreet Asia

Within weeks of slashing workforce in India and China, Indian hospitality chain Oyo Hotels and Homes (OYO) is retrenching hundreds of employees in the US in a bid to keep its bottom line intact, said a DealStreet Asia report.

Headquartered in Gurugram, the SoftBank-backed unicorn has laid off around 360 people in the US, about one-third of its total headcount in the country, Skift reported. Jobs have reportedly been slashed across numerous categories, including business development managers, talent acquisition leads, and area general managers.

OYO forayed into the US in February 2019 and currently claims to have grown to 19,000 rooms in over 250 hotels across 30 states. While OYO refrained from getting into specifics, a senior company executive requesting anonymity, said, “These are hard decisions, but critical for the company to make if it wants to build a strong and sustainable business.”

Unlike other companies that have been written off, OYO has a strong balance sheet but is still taking these measures, which is testament to the fact that the company is running a marathon, and not here for a sprint.

Facebook to remove coronavirus misinformation after WHO declares global emergency – Reuters

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it will take down misinformation about China’s fast-spreading coronavirus in a rare departure from its approach to health content, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak a global health emergency, confirmed a Reuters report.

The world’s biggest social network said in a blog post that it would remove content about the virus “with false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organisations and local health authorities,” saying such content would violate its ban on misinformation leading to “physical harm.”

The move is unusually aggressive for Facebook, which generally limits the distribution of content containing health misinformation through restrictions on search results and advertising, but allows the original posts to stay up.

That approach has angered critics who say the company has failed to curb the spread of inaccuracies that pose major global health threats.

In particular, misinformation about vaccination has spread far on social media in many countries in recent years, including during major vaccination campaigns to prevent polio in Pakistan and to immunise against yellow fever in South America.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news: OYO Founder Ritesh Agarwal has confirmed staff layoffs in India

honestbee to get US$7M to repay its creditors: Report – Business Times

Struggling grocery delivery company honestbee has proposed to pay back its about 800 creditors in part cash and part equity, said a Business Times report, citing sources.

For this, US-based FLK Holdings, which is owned by honestbee’s former Chairman Brian Koo and his venture firm Formation Group, plans to inject fresh funds of US$7 million into the Singapore firm for settlement.

As per this report, Koo and Formation Group plan to use a cash payment to settle three per cent of what honestbee owes to 800 creditors. The remaining 97 per cent will be repaid via the issuance of shares in a new Singapore-incorporated entity that will own honestbee’s assets. This entity will take over the grocery delivery startup’s assets.

Creditors will receive shares in this new firm.

Separately, honestbee owes S$500 (US$366) or less each to more than 1,000 trade creditors, which amounted to over S$150,000 (US$1,096). They will be repaid in full and will not be included in the scheme.

If the plans get through, creditors will own between 70 per cent and 75 per cent of the firm.

honestbee, a heavily-funded company, was struggling to survive after several of its operations in Southeast Asia were shut down. This led the resignation of its co-founder and CEO Joel Sng in May last year.

Indonesian ride-hailing startup Anterin to diversify services following acquisition by MNC Group – KrAsia

Indonesian conglomerate MNC Group, through its subsidiary PT Indonesia Transport & Infrastructure Tbk (IATA), announced that it has signed a term sheet to acquire a majority stake in local motorcycle ride-sharing firm Anterin, according to a report by KrAsia.

Though the amount of the investment was undisclosed, it is meant to drive the shift of Anterin‘s current services towards newer avenues such as food delivery, taxi collaboration with fleet operators, as well as car and helicopter rentals.

“IATA chose Anterin due to its vision. Anterin was created to change the operation concept of ride-hailing firms that exist at the moment,” said Wishnu Handoyono, IATA vice president director, in a press statement.

According to Jakarta Globe, IATA expects to complete the acquisition by “the end of next month.”

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