Kolkata: Vodafone Idea<\/a> (Vi) has reacted to a spate of exits, including at senior levels, in recent times, giving all employees an extra month’s pay as a one-time ex-gratia payout with the November 2020 salary. It has also elevated its director (marketing) Avneesh Khosla to the position of chief marketing officer<\/a> (CMO), filling a position which was vacant for over two years.
The additional compensation, though, is on condition that Vi staffers remain on the company's rolls till March 31, 2021, failing which it would get deducted from the final settlement, two people with direct knowledge told ET.
The move is seen as a clear bid by Vi to hold on to its employee base even as it readies to bolster 4G networks and plug customer losses.
The loss-making telco, which is desperately trying to arrange funding to ramp up its 4G network and clear its huge backlog of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, has seen a string of top level executive exits in recent times, including ex-chief technology officer Vishant Vora, former legal head Kumar Das<\/a>, chief technology security officer (CTSO) Amit Pradhan and ex-brand officer, Kavita Nair.
A top Vi executive confirmed the one-time ex-gratia payout and Khosla’s elevation, saying “people resources were the telco’s most critical assets in these demanding times when it is trying to stabilise operations, arrest customer losses and grow the 4G business”.
At press time, Vi did not reply to ET’s queries.
“It makes sense for Vi to go the extra mile to retain key managerial talent as it needs to quickly catch up with Reliance Jio<\/a> and Bharti Airtel<\/a> on 4G coverage, especially since the loss of key executives at this stage could impact customer services quality, leading to more potential subscriber and revenue losses,” said Rajiv Sharma, research head at SBICap Securities.
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