Google and Reliance-backed Dunzo fires 30% staff

Dunzo, the last-minute grocery and essentials delivery company, has announced a fresh round of layoffs which would impact 30 per cent of its workforce, Business Today has learned from sources.

The current round of layoffs has impacted engineering roles at the company, a person aware of the matter told Business Today.

"It was mostly engineering roles, software engineers, architects, lead, even some director level people," a source told Business Today.

Moreover, the layoffs were announced to the staff in an organisation-wide call on Wednesday. This was followed by a townhall with a Q & A round in the evening.

"The leadership conducted an organisation-wide call in which everyone was there and the layoff announcement was made. It was followed by a town hall also in the evening where we could ask questions," a source informed Business Today.

The fired employees were informed of this development in an one-on-one with their managers.

"Also, all those who got impacted got a one-on-one with their managers," another source said.

Sources say that this downsizing round was conducted to cut costs and streamline the company's operations. Similar cuts have been made by the company's competitors like Zepto, Swiggy, etc.

This is not the first downsizing round at the hyperlocal grocery delivery company. Earlier this year in January, the company laid off 3 per cent of its staff to cut costs.

As per regulatory filings, in FY 2022 the company’s losses stood at Rs 464 crore, two times more than the losses clocked in FY 2021, which stood at Rs 229 crore. 

The startup’s total expenses stood at Rs 531.7 crore and its operating revenue stood at Rs 54.3 crore in FY 22. One of the major drivers in its expenses was the company's advertising promotional expense, which shot up around 6 times to Rs 64.4 crore from Rs 11 crore in FY21.

The company is backed by Google as well as Reliance. Google's stake in the company is around 20 per cent while Reliance owns 25.8 per cent share in the company.

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Also Read: Tech layoffs: GitHub India fires over 140 engineers, say sources - BusinessToday