Bengaluru, August 16: Layoffs are hard for some employees, who may go to great lengths to criticise or hurt the company or its owner. There have been some incidents when fired employees assaulted their boss or company owner or even attempted theft at their houses. Such is an incident of a Bengaluru-based startup, Saarthi AI.

Saarthi AI CEO Vishwa Nath Jha faced a troubling situation when an employee affected by the layoffs stole his passport with a US visa. Due to this, the CEO was unable to travel abroad for new funding. The AI company had implemented massive layoffs, which affected many employees who claimed that the company did not pay them salaries for over a year. Vishwa Nath Jha denied these claims of unpaid salaries, but the company still faces challenges. Cisco Layoffs: Networking Giant Announces Second Round of Job Cuts This Year, Laying Off 6,000 Employees.

According to a report by India Today, the Saarthi AI CEO claimed that his passport, which had a US visa, was stolen, making it impossible for him to travel by flight to the other destinations. He claimed that this act was done by an senior employee whom the company fired. Due to not having a US visa, the Saarthi AI CEO couldn't travel abroad to secure funding for the company. 

The Saarthi AI layoffs were initiated last year and affected several employees in various positions. The CEO highlighted that the decision was driven not by the company or him but by "pressure by the investors". Due to this, Vishwa Nath Jha said the company needed to be financially viable. Although layoffs were a tough decision for Saarthi AI, the challenges were not over. 

The company CEO denied that any unpaid amount was paid to the employees. Contradicting this statement, the current and former employees claimed that more than 50 company employees were not paid salaries for over one year. Some employees filed legal notices but did not receive an answer from the company, which kept them hanging for over a year. TikTok Layoffs: ByteDance-Owned Video Hosting Platform Cuts Hundreds of African Jobs Amid Its Restructuring Exercise, Says Report.

The report said that one laid-off employee spoke about the Saarthi AI CEO and said, "The founder has been unresponsive..." The employee said he often replied to them by saying he did not owe any explanation many times. The problem did not stop there, as the report said the CEO admitted to not paying TDS on behalf of the employees for two fiscal years. Despite these woes, Vishwa Nath Jha, who managed his stolen passport, said he was optimistic about the company. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 16, 2024 06:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).