US home rental company Airbnb has seen the contracts of over 100 employees at Cork-based business process outsourcing firm Voxpro terminated, Hot Press has learned.

Founded in Cork, Voxpro handles customer support services for the hugely successful US tech multi-national and also works with Google and Robinhood, with offices in Dublin, San Francisco and Folsom in California, as well as the Philippines, Romania and Latin America.

Speaking to Hot Press, a source who wished to remain anonymous, said that a series of brief online meetings were held on Wednesday, during which employees at Voxpro, working on the Airbnb contract, were informed about what were described as ‘changes’ to their contracts.

"They were all invited to a Google Hangout call at 1pm, which lasted 10 minutes, and they were told the company was letting-go 60 per cent of staff working on Airbnb," the source told Hot Press.

"There were three mass calls at the same time: one for people who were being kept on, another for people being offered a different temporary contract, and another for people just being let go.

“To all intents and purposes, it was an Airbnb decision to let people go," the source confirmed.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

In a statement issued to Hot Press, a spokesperson for Voxpro Group said that the company is hoping to accommodate affected team members by employing them in other areas of the business.

"While we don't comment on specific details of our partnership,” the statement read, “we can confirm that our contract with one of our partners will be adjusted to current activity levels in the next number of months.

"We will work to offer a flexible transition to other business areas for our team members at Voxpro. This is the ebb and flow nature of operations in our industry in the current business environment.

“We continue to witness strong talent and business growth in our global locations, providing the best possible service for our partners," the statement continued.

While Hot Press was making further inquiries, a story appeared on the Cork Beo website, which suggested that it was incorrect to say that 100 people would lose their jobs. The same statement that had been issued to Hot Press was used as the basis for this story. However, Hot Press has subsequently sought further clarification from Voxpro, in the following terms:

“Apologies for being persistent in relation to this, but I regard the sources of the information that has been given to me as reliable.

What I have written (see below) reflects that. The plan is to publish this by 2pm at the latest.

If there is anything that you believe is incorrect in it, I am offering you the opportunity now to say so and to give the facts clearly to us for inclusion in the story.

I am very happy to publish exactly the numbers you supply to me, if that is done on the basis that you will unequivocally stand over whatever information is supplied.

I have no desire whatsoever to do anything other than to report the facts as they are.

I know that it is a difficult issue for everyone there, so apologies again for my persistence."

However, no further comment or clarification has been offered by Voxpro. Hot Press also sought a comment from Airbnb, but they merely directed us to the Cork Beo story. Meanwhile, that story has been dismissed in a number of pointed online comments.

It is believed that the decision to let a large proportion of the Irish employees working the Airbnb contract go was prompted by the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the short-term letting company. With tourism grinding to a halt, so to a very large extent too has the short-term letting of accommodation in which Airbnb specialises.

Hot Press understands that some staff members have been moved to a three-month contract, doing customer service work for Epic Games, another client of Voxpro’s. However this does not lessen the estimates of overall job losses.

Workers’ rights advocacy group, Connolly Youth Movement (CYM), has devised a "name and shame" list of companies who fired their staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Regularly updated, based on laid-off workers' reports to CYM members, the list includes a myriad of businesses, from Ryanair to Wetherspoons.

Earlier this month, UK retail company Debenhams fired 2,000 of its employees in Ireland via email stating that the company's eleven stores in the Republic were "not expected to reopen" after the coronavirus pandemic. Mired in a more general downturn in retail, the company decided to liquidate its Irish operation.

Earlier this week, Gardaí halted a protest, staged by former employees of Debenhams in Dublin city centre, arguing that it involved people making what was deemed a "non-essential journey".

The former retail workers had convened outside Debenhams's Henry Street store to protest against the mass layoffs. The picketers were aiming to hold a vigil outside the store, carrying placards, while adhering to social-distancing regulations, yet the demonstration was judged illegal by Gardaí.

QUARANTINE APARTMENTS

There can be little doubt that Airbnb has been significantly damaged by the global coronavirus pandemic. Social curbs imposed by governments to slow the spread of Covid-19 include hugely imposing restrictions on travelling and tourism – the driving force of the company's business model – which have also wiped out most air travel.

Nevertheless, The New York Times reports that the American home rental start-up continues to remain active by offering short-term rental platforms, or what have been described as "quarantine apartments", to potential customers. And it is apparently finding takers among tourists who have been accidentally marooned in foreign countries.

Earlier this month, as the coronavirus extended its reach across the world, Airbnb confirmed that it had raised $1 billion in new funding to assist in its survival.

The private company was previously valued at as much as $31 billion, though it lowered its internal valuation to $26 billion, last month.

It is believed that a large number of Airbnb global "hosts" – the people who rent their homes on its sites – are facing an unprecedented wave of cancellations, with many of them having their bookings collapse to zero.

The Irish Government is using empty Airbnb properties as self-isolation facilities for homeless individuals, during the coronavirus crisis.

On Wednesday, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy TD said that the health emergency has revealed that excessive short-term letting sites are contributing to housing inequality in Ireland.

Eoghan Murphy said that many of those properties should not return to the tourism sector, even after the pandemic subsides.

“It is abundantly clear in this crisis [based on] the amount of short-term letting properties that are now available for homeless services for the HSE and others that we need to take the next step and regulate [short-term letting] platforms,” the Minister said.

“And we are going to do that, and the next Government has to do that,” he continued.

This past January, the number of homes advertised by Airbnb for brief stays in Ireland rose by more than 1,000 in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, reaching a total of nearly 6,900.

VOXPRO'S HUMBLE ORIGINS IN CORK

Founded by Cork couple Dan and Linda Kiely, over two decades ago, Voxpro was snapped up by Canadian customer care giant Telus International, in August 2016. Acquiring the Cork-based firm cost Telus – who obtained the remaining interest of the company in 2019 – around $150 million.

Voxpro began in 2002, with just six employees offering customer service support from above a pub on Cork's Marlboro Street. The company now offers customer care and technical support to prominent international clients including Google, Wix, Robinhood and Airbnb.

In 2019, following Telus's full acquisition of the rapidly growing Cork-based firm, Dan Kiely stepped down as the CEO of Voxpro, stating that it was time to 'move on'.

"Both Linda and I feel that this is the right time to move on to the next phase in our collective evolution," Mr Kiely told The Irish Times.

"We have loved every minute of watching our business grow, and we cannot express our appreciation enough to everyone at Voxpro for all of their hard work and efforts over the years."

According to Voxpro's website, Dan remains part of the Telus International leadership team. Voxpro's revenue grew by 50 per cent in 2019, reaching €91.1 million. The way things are going, however, the figure for 2020 is likely to be rather less than that.