In April 2023, Indian kirana tech startup 1K Kirana laid off a significant portion of its workforce as part of a major business restructuring. While the company officially stated it let go of 40% of employees, sources indicated the cuts were much deeper, affecting over 600 people—approximately 60-70% of a workforce that had been over 1,000 following a 2022 funding round. This left the company with only about 200 employees. The layoffs, which began in November 2022 and continued through March 2023, impacted teams across on-ground operations, warehouse, delivery, network operations, growth, and tech. The restructuring was driven by changed growth forecasts, a withdrawal from several geographies, and difficulties in raising fresh funding as investors shifted focus toward profitability.
