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Ofo staff told to 'appreciate' the start-up experience amid company’s financial struggles

SINGAPORE — The acting general manager of embattled bike-sharing company Ofo has appealed to staff for their understanding, saying in a note that running a start-up is “extremely hard”.

SINGAPORE — The acting general manager of embattled bike-sharing company Ofo has appealed to staff for their understanding, saying in a note that running a start-up is “extremely hard”.

In the internal message sent on Thursday (Dec 27) that was seen by TODAY, Mr Jack Zhou told staff that their time with Ofo will help them “deeply understand” start-ups.

“For me, I enjoy every single day in OFO even (when) it's tough,” he wrote, adding: “Try to appreciate it as long as you get the salary every month.”

The message came a day after a report by TODAY detailed some of the financial troubles brewing at Ofo’s Singapore office.

At least two companies here have sent letters of demand to the firm to claw back money owed for logistic services. The two vendors have not been paid for their services for at least three months, with the unpaid sums totalling more than S$700,000.

Employees in Ofo’s Singapore office are also owed thousands of dollars in unpaid transport and mobile phone claims accumulated over more than six months, TODAY understands.

The China-based firm — which is backed by conglomerate Alibaba Group — is battling cash-flow problems and dealing with irate customers in China demanding refunds of their deposits.

In the note to Singapore staff, Mr Zhou thanked those who have stood by the company. “I won't waste my time on those who sell news to the media and try to destroy the company,” he added. 

When contacted on Thursday, Mr Zhou did not address any of the issues highlighted in TODAY’s report and referred TODAY to the public relations officer based in Ofo’s Beijing head office.

The company has yet to reply to queries from TODAY despite repeated attempts to reach it.

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