Info Edge & Kae Capital-backed Kirana Bazaar lays off 40% of its workforce: report

Kirana tech start-up Kirana Bazaar has laid off around 40 per cent of its workforce, a report by DealStreetAsia revealed. The company is looking at winding up operations in a couple of geographies as well as restructure its business. 
 
In a statement, the company’s founder confirmed the development and said, “We are currently in the process of restructuring as our growth forecasts have changed. We are changing our focus areas and moving out of a few geographies. Due to this, we have to let go of 40 percent of our employees.”
 
He also added that all the employees will be given severances and they will be helped with outplacements as well.
 
According to another report by Moneycontrol, this number is slightly higher. Sources told the media agency that 60 per cent or 600 employees have been laid off. The startup was struggling to raise funds because of investors’ focus on profitability which has resulted in this situation. 
 
The layoffs affected the on-ground operations, warehouse, delivery, network operations, growth, and tech teams, according to sources. 
 
Kirana Bazaar was founded in 2018 by Sangeetesh and Sachin Sharma. The company which partners with kirana stores and helps them in online and offline retail raised $25 billion in its Series B round of funding led by Alpha Wave Ventures. The Gurugram-based company is also backed by Info Edge Ventures, Kae Capital, and entrepreneurs of other start-ups such as GoMechanic and Zetwerk also participated in the round. 
 

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