Grab commits to livelihood plan despite restructuring

MYTAXI.PH, Inc., the company behind Grab Philippines, said the job layoff announced last week would not affect its commitment to provide 500,000 livelihood opportunities to Filipinos.

“The Philippines has always been an important market for Grab. We remain steadfast in our promise to create 500,000 livelihood opportunities in the Philippines and will continue to make progress on this by creating meaningful opportunities for everyday Filipinos and small businesses to earn a livelihood on our platform, whether as a driver-partner, delivery partner, or merchant partner,” Grab Philippines Country Head Grace Vera-Cruz said in a statement.

Last week, the Singapore-based ride-hailing company’s co-founder, Anthony Tan, announced Grab’s restructuring that will involve the laying off of 1,000 employees across its network.

Grab operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“The restructuring exercise neither changes our investment commitment to the government, nor does it affect our ability to ably serve Filipinos. We are accelerating our efforts to ensure that this will come to fruition, as we unlock further economic empowerment through our robust ecosystem,” Ms. Vera-Cruz said.

In a statement last week, digital advocates network Digital Pinoys shed light on the transport network company’s investment pledge.

“The news of the massive layoff set to be implemented by Grab will put into question their ability to deliver their investment pledge,” said Digital Pinoys National Campaigner Ronald Gustilo.

“The government should also consider if the service quality for Grab’s customer passengers and their drivers will get affected if the layoff will affect the operations of Grab Philippines,” he added.

Grab Philippines expressed its commitment to “adequately compensate” those affected by the restructuring program through financial, professional, and medical support.

“We are aware that change may be incredibly challenging and we are prioritizing the welfare of the Grabbers who were affected by the restructuring exercise. We want to make sure that they have the runway during their professional transition,” said Ms. Vera-Cruz.

In his letter to Grab employees, Mr. Tan said the support to be provided by the company includes severance payment, goodwill payment of an ex gratia amount, encashment of unused accrued annual leave, GrabFlex credits, and maternity or paternity leaves.

“They are also entitled to a completion bonus for those who are required to provide transition support, repatriation support, and an option to keep their pre-assigned laptops,” the company said.

The company said that it will also be extending medical insurance coverage for its laid-off employees until the end of the year.

“To help them to transition to their professional careers, Grab is providing development support in the form of free one-year access to LinkedIn Premium subscription and LinkedIn Learning, and access to sessions with a professional coach,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile