VerSe Innovation, parent of Josh and Dailyhunt, has reversed its decision of an 11 per cent pay cut implemented in November 2022.
VerSe is also expanding its ESOP allocation. “We value the hard work and dedication of our employees, and this decision reflects our appreciation for their contributions to the success of VerSe. We are excited to commence our performance appraisal process for FY23, which will pave the way for Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) payout and additional Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) allocation,” the company spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that VerSe believes in recognising and rewarding the performance and dedication of its employees, and this initiative reflects commitment to their professional growth and success. Moneycontrol was the first to report this development.
VerSe has also laid off 5 per cent of its 3,000 members team in November 2022, to ensure the long-term viability of its business. In FY22, VerSe Innovation reported a 3x jump in losses at ₹2,500 crore against a revenue of ₹965 crore, which was almost 45 per cent higher than the ₹666 crore revenue reported in FY21.
Employee benefit expenses were the second largest expense for the company in FY22 after business promotion expenses. VerSe spent ₹731 crore on employee benefits and ₹2,693 crore on business promotion in FY22. .
Short-video app, Josh was last reported to have over 163 million MAUs (Monthly Active Users), 80 million DAUs (Daily Active Users), and 30 minutes average time spent. Local language content platform Dailyhunt had over 350 million MAUs and over 100,000 content partners and individual content creators as of April. Further, the hyperlocal video app PublicVibe, which was acquired by VerSe in 2021, had 5 million MAUs in April 2022.