Heena Sharma Blog

Foodtech giant Swiggy will lay off 1,100 employees citing business losses because of the lockdown to contain the coronavirus , two days after rival Zomato revealed plans to cut 13 per cent of its workforce. The company backed by China’s Tencent and Prosus NV has about 8,000 employees and it is reducing 13.75 per cent of its workforce. “We, unfortunately, have to part ways with 1100 of our employees spanning across grades and functions in the cities and head office over the next few days. This is easily the hardest and longest deliberated decision the management team and I have been faced with over recent times,” said Swiggy co-founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety in a blog post. “We have been fortunate to have some of the brightest missionary talent in the country join us over the last few years, and I would like to state unequivocally that this is not at all a reflection of anyone’s performance.” Read More

Mobile phones, televisions, refrigerators, laptops and stationary items will be allowed to be sold through e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal from April 20 during the lockdown, officials said on Thursday. The clarification from a senior home ministry official came a day after Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued revised guidelines for the extended lockdown period till May 3. Electronic items like the mobile phones, TVs, laptops will be available on the e-commerce platforms from April 20, the official said. However, the delivery vans of the e-commerce companies will need permission from authorities for plying on the roads. According to Wednesday's guidelines, commercial and private establishments were allowed to operate during the extended lockdown. Read More

Deutsche Post DHL Group's StreetScooter electric vehicle unit will enter the U.S. market next year as delivery firms and municipalities work to cut greenhouse gas emissions. DHL will debut StreetScooter's zero-emission Work L delivery van in two urban U.S. markets, one on each coast, starting in Spring 2020, the companies said. They did not specify which markets would be the first. Full deployment could come in 2022 and 2023, said Ulrich Stuhec, StreetScooter's chief technology officer, who joined the company from Ford Motor Co in October. Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Tokyo and 30 other cities around the globe have been working to establish zero-emission zones by 2030. Those cities hope to curb accumulating greenhouse gases that contribute to extreme weather, higher temperatures and rising sea levels, which have steep economic, environmental and human costs. The transportation industry - which includes fossil fuel-burning ships, trains, trucks and planes - acc