Swiggy To Fire 380 Employees, Shut Meat Marketplace

Food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy will lay off 380 employees, joining a swath of Indian VC-backed companies that resorted to firings to control costs amid a funding winter.

The company will reduce its workforce by 380 employees "as a part of a restructuring exercise", Swiggy's Chief Executive Officer Sriharsha Majety wrote in an email to the employees.

"Over the last year, under challenging macroeconomic conditions, companies around the world (public and private) have adjusted to the new normal with refreshed investment horizons and accelerated timelines for profitability," he wrote. "We’re no exception here, and have already advanced our own timelines for profitability on food delivery and Instamart."

While Swiggy's cash reserves allow it to be "fundamentally well positioned", Majety said, the company needs to revisit its overall indirect costs to hit its profitability goals. "In addition, the growth rate for food delivery has slowed down versus our projections, along with many peer companies globally."

He said that "overhiring is a case of poor judgement" and that he "should’ve done better here."

The company will also shut down its meat marketplace. "We haven’t hit product-market fit here despite our iterations. From a customer perspective, we will still continue to offer meat delivery through Instamart. We will continue to stay invested in all other new verticals," he said.

Swiggy joins Byju's, Vedantu, Unacademy, and ShareChat, among others, in the layoff spree that has been brought on by a renewed focus on capital conservation amid a tougher funding scenario.