Swiggy

Total Affected

3,280

Total Events

6

Layoff History

1/25/2024IN

400

affected

Indian food delivery giant Swiggy is laying off approximately 400 employees, which represents nearly 7% of its workforce, as announced in January 2024. This marks the second such round of job cuts in about a year as the Bengaluru-based startup aggressively streamlines operations to improve its financial health ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO). Despite its core food delivery business being profitable, Swiggy is not yet profitable at the group level. The move comes amid intense competition with rival Zomato, which has recently become profitable and expanded its market share lead. With a valuation of $10.7 billion, Swiggy is under pressure to strengthen its metrics to secure a favorable valuation when it goes public.

7%
1/20/2023IN

380

affected

Swiggy, a major Indian food and grocery delivery startup, laid off 380 employees on January 20, 2023, as part of a companywide restructuring. This reduction affected approximately 6% of its total workforce of about 6,000 people. CEO Sriharsha Majety cited slowing growth in the core food delivery business, over-hiring based on overly optimistic projections, and a broader late-stage funding crunch impacting the tech startup sector. The company also announced the shutdown of its standalone meat marketplace, though meat delivery will continue through its Instamart service. Impacted employees were offered severance compensation ranging from three to six months' salary.

6%
12/8/2022IN

250

affected

Food delivery giant Swiggy is laying off approximately 250 employees, representing about 3-5% of its total workforce. The cuts, reported in late 2022, impact roles across supply chain, operations, customer service, and technology. This performance-related restructuring occurs as Swiggy faces intense competition, with rival Zomato holding a 55% market share. The company is also taking steps to reduce costs and cash burn, including scaling back its quick commerce expansion. These layoffs are part of a broader trend in the Indian foodtech and startup industry, which saw significant workforce reductions that year.

3%
7/27/2020IN

350

affected

Swiggy, a major Indian foodtech unicorn, laid off 350 employees in July 2020, marking its second round of job cuts that year after letting go of 1,100 staff in May. This restructuring was a response to the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had reduced the industry's daily orders to about 50% of pre-crisis levels. The company described this as its final realignment exercise, aimed at cutting costs and reallocating resources to higher-potential areas like grocery delivery and its Swiggy Genie service, as food delivery constituted over 80% of its business. Affected employees were offered a severance package including three to eight months' salary. The layoffs reflect broader challenges in the startup sector during the pandemic, with slow recovery and ongoing lockdowns forcing many firms to reduce their workforce.

5%
5/18/2020IN

1,100

affected

Swiggy laid off 1,100 employees representing approximately 14% of its workforce on 2020-05-18.

14%
4/21/2020IN

800

affected

Swiggy, the Indian online food delivery startup, is laying off approximately 800-900 employees, primarily from its cloud kitchen division, as part of a cost-cutting plan approved by its board in April 2020. This represents a significant reduction, though the exact percentage relative to its total workforce at the time is not specified. The layoffs are a direct response to the severe economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the company to shut down around half of its cloud kitchens and renegotiate rents. The Bengaluru-based unicorn, operating in the food delivery and consumer internet industry, cited the need to stay nimble and focus on profitability during the extended lockdown. While some layoffs were based on performance reviews, the broader context is a wave of job cuts across startups aiming to preserve cash during the crisis.