Food delivery company Zomato will layoff 13 per cent of its workforce or about 520 employees and temporarily cut the remaining wages as it sees the restaurant industry shrinking by 25-40 per cent in the next 6-12 months.

Affected employees will receive half their salaries along with health insurance for the next six months or till they find another job, whichever is earlier, Zomato CEO and co-founder Goyal said in the email.

“Our business has been severely affected by the COVID lockdowns. A large number of restaurants have already shut down permanently, and we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I expect the number of restaurants to shrink by 25-40% over the next 6-12 months. What actually happens, for better or worse, is anybody’s guess,” Goyal said.

The laid-off employees will be able to retain their company-issued laptops, phones and provide outplacement support. Zomato also lets workers vest their ESOPs.

Apart from layoffs and pay cuts, Zomato has also decided to make partial or full work from home a permanent feature to cut down on real estate costs. The Gurgaon-headquartered firm’s second-highest recurring expense is on real estate and it runs more than 150 offices across the world.