Vows to provide livelihood opportunities to 500,000 Filipinos
The recent restructuring exercise that Grab implemented across its markets in the region would not affect its commitment to the Philippine government to provide livelihood opportunities to 500,000 Filipinos.
In the media advisory sent by Grab Philippines, Grab Philippines Country Head Grace Vera-Cruz said, “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 Filipinos and small businesses to earn a livelihood on our platform.”
“Whether as a driver-partner, delivery partner, or merchant partner. Grab is committed to equipping them with tools, training, and technology to be more productive,” she said.
Since it was launched in the Philippines in 2012, the Grab platform has created income opportunities for millions of micro-entrepreneurs as well as small and medium enterprises.
During his recent courtesy call with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Grab Co-Founder and CEO Anthony Tan signified Grab’s intention to generate 500,000 livelihood opportunities for Filipinos.
“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,” Vera Cruz said.
In a letter from Grab CEO Anthony Tan, Grab recently announced it is letting go of 1,000 of its employees, also called Grabbers, across the different markets across Southeast Asia to combine its scale with agile execution and cost leadership. This, in turn, allows Grab to sustainably offer even more affordable services and serve its drivers and merchant partners better.
Providing a clear runway for affected Grabbers
To ensure those affected by the restructuring program will be adequately compensated, Grab will provide them with financial, professional, and medical support.
These include the provision of severance payment of half a month for every six months of completed service, or based on local statutory guidelines, whichever is higher, as well as goodwill payment of an ex-gratia amount determined by Grab for forgone target bonus and equity.
Grabbers will also be entitled to the 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.
“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,” Vera-Cruz said.
As such, Grab has also extended their medical insurance coverage until the end of this year, where possible, subject to local insurance terms.
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.