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TODAY

With its revenues taking a severe hit from the coronavirus outbreak, Grab is encouraging its employees to go on voluntary unpaid leave.
The ride-hailing firm warned on Wednesday that it might no longer be able to provide its drivers with extra financial support if Singapore’s circuit breaker restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus extend beyond June 1.
In a letter to drivers – a copy of which was sent to the media – Grab Singapore’s head of transport Andrew Chan said the company’s business had been badly hit by the pandemic.
“No one can be sure how long the situation will last, but we are preparing for a long and difficult path ahead,” he wrote. “As our revenues continue to fall, senior Grab leaders have taken a pay cut of up to 20 per cent, and Grab staff have also been encouraged to take no-pay leave voluntarily.”
Storm in a bubble tea cup as Singapore coronavirus circuit-breaker extended to June
When contacted, Grab declined to reveal the number of people it employs in Singapore and how many among them have volunteered to take no-pay leave.
In March last year, it said it had 1,500 staff members here and planned to double its headcount to 3,000 by the end of this year. They will be housed in its new headquarters in one north that was due to be ready by the fourth quarter of this year.
Grab’s announcement on Wednesday comes about a month after it said its senior leaders would take a pay cut of up to 20 per cent to tide the business and its partners over the pandemic.
No community spread of Covid-19 in Singapore up to end-March: study
The circuit breaker movement controls in Singapore, which began on April 7, have meant that most people are staying home and commuting only for essential activities.
As a result, transport rides have continued to plunge by “double-digit percentages”, Mr Chan said. This has decimated the earnings of Grab’s drivers.
Grab declined to disclose the actual decline in ridership.
To plug a shortage of delivery slots and supplement their income, taxi and private-hire car drivers were allowed to take on grocery and food deliveries from last month.

MORE HELP FOR DRIVERS
On Wednesday, Grab extended a slew of support schemes for its driver-partners in tandem with the nationwide extension of the circuit breaker announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on April 21.
These include a cutback on commission fees by at least 50 per cent until June 1.
But Chan warned: “We may no longer be able to provide extra financial support if the circuit breaker is extended past June 1.”
Singapore job losses to rise as economy faces ‘darkest year since independence’
To help its drivers through the extended circuit breaker, Grab will shave 75 per cent off commission fees from May 4 to June 1 for new drivers who rent vehicles from its rental arm GrabRentals. Existing hirers will have their commissions waived completely until May 10.
All other Grab drivers will continue to get a 50 to 55 per cent reduction in commission fees until June 1.
Grab takes a 20 per cent commission for every ride that its drivers complete.
Until May 31, it will also offer drivers who completed at least 200 trips between October and December last year up to S$85 a week. This is in addition to the government-funded support of S$10 a day per vehicle.
Singapore Covid-19 cases to rise as not all migrant workers being tested
Chan said extending the support schemes was not an easy decision, since Grab’s business had taken a bad hit.
“It has taken us a few days to confirm this for you, as we needed to reroute some funding,” he told the company’s driver-partners.
To finance this round of financial help, Grab moved funds from other Grab driver-partner benefit schemes – such as rewards for top-rated drivers, which have been put on hold – and relied on voluntary donations from Grab employees, which the firm matched dollar-for-dollar.
Thanking its drivers who continue to “keep Singapore moving and well-fed”, Chan said: “It will take our collective will and efforts to beat this virus and emerge from this crisis stronger together.”
Read more at Today Online.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: Grab Singapore asks workers to go on voluntary unpaid leave

Grab Singapore says it is ‘preparing for a long and difficult path ahead’. Photo: Reuters

Grab delivery cyclists ride past eact other in Singapore on April 20, 2020, as the number of food deliveries has surged since stay at home restrictions were put in place to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Grab CEO says coronavirus ‘single biggest crisis’ in company’s history

Grab’s ride-hailing app is seen displayed on a smartphone. Photo: Handout

Anthony Tan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Grab, poses for a photograph in Singapore, on Monday, July 9, 2018. Grab is opening its app to external developers and fellow startups, as the company that bought out Uber Technologies Inc. in Southeast Asia tries to build a WeChat-like super-app that encompasses everything from maps and payments to food delivery. Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

Commuters wait next to Grab’s transport booking service app advertisements at a railway station in Singapore in February of 2016. Photo: Reuters

Coronavirus: more than 1 in 5 Singapore firms looking to slash jobs

The Marina Bay Sands buildings in the Central Business District of Singapore. Photo: EPA

Singapore expects spike in job losses as coronavirus pandemic hits demand and economists predict ‘darkest year’ ahead

The Merlion Park waterfront stands empty in Singapore, as citizens and visitors stay away during the coronavirus circuit breaker measures, which are having a negative impact on economic activity in the city state. Photo: Bloomberg

epa08361534 Pigeons flock outside a closed shop at the Kampong Glam district in Singapore, 14 April 2020. The Singapore government will be tightening its so-called 'circuit breaker' measures, issuing fines and implementing a compulsory mask-wearing policy for visitors to supermarkets and banks, as well as for public transport. The country's Ministry of Health reported a spike of infections on 13 April, mostly from foreign worker dormitories. EPA-EFE/WALLACE WOON

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Monetary Authority of Singapore building in Singapore April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

epa08364499 Women wearing protective face masks cross a street in The Central Business District in Singapore, 15 April 2020. Singapore on 14 April 2020 made it compulsory for everyone to wear a mask once outside of their homes in the latest measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus as the city state continue to shut non-essential workplaces and schools under its circuit-breaker measures. EPA-EFE/HOW HWEE YOUNG

epa08370318 People wearing masks walk past in closed stores in Busgis street in Singapore, 17 April 2020 (issued 18 April 2020), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Singapore on 18 April is on its 12th day into a month-long 'circuit breaker' period where non-essential services workplaces and schools are closed among measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infectious disease. EPA-EFE/HOW HWEE YOUNG

In locked-down Singapore, a British man is paying US$7,000 for a swim

The bungalow with the pool is a 10-minute jog from the man’s condominium, or a short golf-buggy drive away. Photo: Shutterstock

Coronavirus: why so few deaths among Singapore’s 14,000 Covid-19 infections?

A woman has her hands sanitised while buying groceries amid the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

epa08375302 A handout photo made available by the Singapore Ministry of Communication and Information shows Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong making a national address in Singapore, 21 April 2020. Singapore has extended its 'circuit breaker' lockdown period to 01 June 2020, and will further tighten existing measures to curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease. Singapore has seen a large uptick in the number of cases over the past week. EPA-EFE/MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION / BETTY CHUA / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Migrant workers are seen resting at balcony after lunch time at the dormitories that houses foreign workers and has been made into an isolation area to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Singapore on April 22, 2020. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

Medical sreening takes place at Westlite Toh Guan dormitory, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Singapore April 7, 2020. Picture taken April 7, 2020. Ministry of Manpower Singapore/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

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Coronavirus

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Firm says it’s unlikely to provide extra financial support if Singapore extends partial lockdown beyond June 1
Announcement comes a month after Grab said senior leaders would take a pay cut of up to 20 per cent



The ride-hailing firm says it is unlikely to provide its drivers with extra financial support if Singapore extends its partial lockdown beyond June 1.


Coronavirus: Grab Singapore asks workers to go on voluntary unpaid leave

Firm says it’s unlikely to provide extra financial support if Singapore extends partial lockdown beyond June 1 Announcement comes a month after Grab said senior leaders would take a pay cut of up to 20 per cent

Firm says it’s unlikely to provide extra financial support if Singapore extends partial lockdown beyond June 1

Announcement comes a month after Grab said senior leaders would take a pay cut of up to 20 per cent