Paytm denies layoffs, says Senior Vice President Praveen Sharma has resigned

One97 Communications, the parent company of fintech unicorn Paytm, has in an exchange filing on March 24 announced that Praveen Sharma, Senior Vice President - Business, formally resigned from his position on Saturday.

Sharma is pursuing "other opportunities" in the next phase of his professional journey.

Before his tenure at Paytm, Sharma held leadership roles at Google for nine years, focusing on India and the APAC region, as per an ANI report.

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Clarification on Workforce Reduction Speculations

Meanwhile, amid recent job cut speculations, Paytm refuted reports suggesting a 25-50 percent reduction in its workforce in specific business segments, ANI reported. The company labelled such reports as "baseless" and inaccurately representing its operational and strategic planning.

Paytm clarified in its filing that it is currently engaged in its annual appraisal process, a routine organisational practice aimed at evaluating and enhancing team performance. The company stressed that this process, which focuses on performance evaluations and role alignments, is standard across industries and does not indicate layoffs.

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The company asserted that its restructuring efforts and performance-related adjustments have been misconstrued as layoffs. Paytm reassured its commitment to growth and operational efficiency without compromising workforce stability.

"The claims of layoffs affecting 50% of our workforce are unfounded and misleading. We are focused on sustainable growth, innovation, and providing exceptional service to our customers. We urge our stakeholders and the public to rely on factual and verified information from official sources and disregard speculative narratives," a spokesperson for Paytm said.

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Paytm also stated its dedication to "leading the digital payments and financial services landscape in India, reinforcing its commitment to innovation, customer service, and team development amidst unfounded layoff speculations".Lso