KOCHI: Months after facing delayed salaries, nearly 300 employees associated with Kochi-headquartered Talrop and its startup ecosystem say they are still waiting for their pending wages following a series of layoffs that unfolded over several months.
Former employees alleged that salary delays began long before the layoffs and gradually worsened, forcing many to work from home as they struggled to meet personal expenses. While some eventually resigned, others were informed that their roles would end as part of the company’s restructuring.
Abhinand P N, a former software developer at the firm, said he had initially joined Talrop around one-and-a-half years ago before being shifted to Ribos, one of the startups under the Talrop group.
“I was first hired by Talrop as a developer. Around seven months later, the company launched a new startup exclusively for developers called Ribos. We were asked to resign from Talrop, issued fresh appointment letters and rejoined Ribos with the same salary package,” he said.
According to Abhinand, salaries were initially paid on time, but payments soon began getting delayed, eventually turning into a recurring cycle.
“After a point, salaries stopped coming altogether. Many employees could not manage their expenses and returned home, opting to work from there. We were later told that the development team could remain only for another two months and should look for other jobs by May 31. Several other departments were also laid off,” he said.
He alleged that employees were repeatedly assured that all pending salaries would be cleared by May 31, but the payments never materialised despite multiple revised promises.
The affected employees said they are now seeking the immediate release of their pending salaries and clarity from the company regarding the dues.
Despite repeated attempts, TNIE was unable to obtain a response from the side of Talrop.
