B2B Unicorn Udaan Fires Around 350 Employees

New Delhi: B2B unicorn ‘udaan’ has fired 300-350 employees across India on account of role redundancies and cost-cutting measures, according to sources.

Some employees told news agency PTI that they were intimated about the layoff on Friday morning and told that the human resource department will reach out to them for the final paperwork. Sources aware of the development said around 300-350 people have been laid off from the company, the report added.

Udaan confirmed the development without sharing the number of employees hit by the decision, Business Standard reported. “As we move forward in our journey towards making Udaan a profitable company, the efficiency enhancement drive and the evolution in business model has created some redundancies in the system, with some roles no longer required. As a responsible organisation, we are working towards providing all requisite support to the impacted employees,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The spokesperson said over the last few years, udaan has made significant investments to build a tech-led solid and sustainable business, offer affordable and quality products, better services, and superb experience to its business partners.

“We believe in efficiency as a driver of profitable growth and will continue to refine our cost structures and models. In this direction, we have taken numerous steps, with enhanced digital capabilities, to achieve efficiency and scale, become more agile and remain competitive in the marketplace,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying, adding that the initiatives have not only helped udaan achieve positive unit economics but also reduced inefficiency in the system, with huge cost benefits, which is key to building a sustainable business.

According to him, the company will continue to invest to build udaan as a professionally run organisation with scale, capabilities and resilience that can leverage the huge opportunity that kirana commerce offers, while empowering the small businesses of Bharat.

The development comes close on the heels of Twitter India, Byju’s and Amazon cutting down their employees force in India.