COVID-19: Companies bargaining for rental discount, serving termination notices

Many firms are looking to cut down on their rental costs after implementing work from home policies. Most of the firms have said that half of their executives will continue to work from home, directly impacting their need for office space.

NEW DELHI: Many multinational companies occupying premium office spaces in Gurgaon are aggressively bargaining for discounts and some have even served termination notices to the landlords after high rentals have become unsustainable due to the Covid-19 disruption. According to the people in the know several firms including Deloitte and PwC are set to surrender a portion of the space of the employees are not required to come to office. “We will continue to drive our real estate strategy in alignment with the investments made in technology, as the concept of the workplace gets redefined in this changing environment,” said Padmaja Alagandan, Chief People Officer, PwC India. Consultants now say that rentals are likely to reach 2018 levels.