'I'm extremely sorry...' Swiggy CEO apologises as the company lays off 380 employees

Foodtech company Swiggy has fired 380 employees in a bid to rationalise business amid a tough venture funding market, said a company spokesperson. The decision, which affects around 3 percent of its 6,000-strong staff, was communicated to employees at a town hall on January 20.

Team Newsable

First Published Jan 20, 2023, 2:09 PM IST

Food delivery platform Swiggy on Friday said it is "bidding goodbye to 380 talented Swiggsters" as part of a restructuring exercise, adding it was an "extremely difficult decision". The decision, which impacts around 3% of its 6,000-person workforce, was announced to staff on January 20 at a town hall meeting.

"As part of a reorganisation process, we're putting into action a very painful choice to reduce the size of our workforce. We will be saying farewell to 380 talented Swiggsters during this process. I'm sorry to all of you for having to make this choice, which was incredibly tough to make after considering all of the possibilities," Swiggy founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety sent an email to the company's staff.

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Majety said that the firm will be closing down its meat marketplace and would have to take a closer look at several of its current verticals. "Despite the team's outstanding performance and excellent contributions, we haven't yet achieved product-market fit in this case. From the standpoint of the client, we will keep providing meat delivery through Instamart. We will keep investing in any further new verticals," he added.

Majety said over the last year, under challenging macroeconomic conditions, companies around the world are adjusting to the new normal.

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Depending on their duration and grade, the sacked workers will get a monetary settlement equal to three to six months of their wages. This comprises a complete payment of incentives and variable compensation. There will be no payment of the joining bonus or retention bonus. The SoftBank-backed company had raised $700 million in its last funding round in January 2022 at a valuation of $10.7 billion.

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Last Updated Jan 20, 2023, 2:09 PM IST