Former employee 'steals' Bengaluru CEO's passport with US visa after mass layoffs
He earlier said the firm had been forced to let go of some employees to become profitable while blaming “investor pressure” for the layoffs
It seems Bengaluru-based startup Saarthi AI’s woes are far from over. After carrying out mass layoffs last year in a bid to turn profitable, the firm was accused of withholding the salaries of several employees since March 2023.
In a fresh trouble, Saarthi AI founder and CEO Vishwa Nath Jha has alleged that a former employee stole his passport which had a US visa.
He told news agency PTI in July that the company had been forced to let go of some employees to become profitable. He blamed “investor pressure” for the layoffs.
Jha made this revelation while speaking to tech news website Entackr on Friday. He alleged that a former employee stole his passport, and that is preventing him from travelling abroad to raise fresh capital for the troubled firm. “While I managed to reissue a new passport, I am yet to get the US visa again. It’s a long queue,” Jha said.
He rejected allegations of employees’ salaries being withheld. He claimed that no salaries have been withheld and the allegations are a ploy to defame the AI startup. “We’re planning to fill key positions as it negotiates deals [business] with several banks and NBFCs,” he said.
However, former and current employees of the company have a different take on the scenario. The mass layoffs conducted in September last year reduced Saarthi AI’s workforce to 40 employees. Entrackr talked to about a dozen employees who all said they have yet to receive their pending salaries.
“The firm has been holding salaries of more than 50 employees for over a year now and even didn’t reply to legal notices. The founder has been unresponsive and even mentioned that he doesn’t owe us any explanation on multiple occasions,” said a former employee, pleading anonymity
Jha admitted that the company had not deposited TDS on behalf of employees for the last two fiscal years. “The startup is still not generating surplus cash to clear long-standing dues. We have been transparent in our communications with the concerned ex-team members. We are working hard to become operationally cash flow positive by Q2 of 2024 to sustain company operations and support our current team members. Additionally, Saarthi.ai is actively in talks with investors to raise fresh capital to address outstanding debts and liabilities,” said Jha.
