Layoffs in India

Adda247 laid off 200 employees representing approximately 20% of its workforce on 2026-05-10. The company is at the Series B funding stage and operates in the Education sector.

Pocket FM laid off 100 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2026-05-06. The company is at the Series D funding stage and operates in the Media sector.

Covrzy, an Antler-backed insurtech startup based in Bengaluru, has shut down after about three years of operation due to a persistent cash crunch. The company, which had around 13 employees at closure, saw its workforce fully laid off as operations wound down. This followed the resignation of its cofounder and CTO last year, which triggered a series of top-level exits and missed internal targets. Despite exploring acquisition deals until December 2025, two potential M&A bids fell through, with acquirers showing interest only in Covrzy's distribution rather than its innovation in the SME insurance space. Founded in 2023, the startup had onboarded over 800 businesses and was projecting revenue growth, but financial instability ultimately led to its demise in early 2026.

Flipkart, a major Indian e-commerce company, has laid off approximately 400 to 500 employees, which represents about 3-4% of its total workforce. This move followed the company's annual performance review cycle, which it described as a regular process, though the scale of this reduction is noted as being higher than the typical 1-2% seen in such reviews. The layoffs occur as Flipkart is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) on Indian stock exchanges, with discussions underway with investment bankers and a potential listing targeted for late 2026 or early 2027. The company is also streamlining its operations, including recent divestments, as part of its broader strategic preparations.

AI-linked job loss tracked by JobLoss.ai. Industry: Interior Design

Livspace, a home interior and renovation unicorn in the real estate tech industry, has laid off 1,000 employees, representing about 12% of its workforce. These job cuts occurred over the past six months as the company strategically integrated advanced AI agents and automation into its core functions—sales, operations, design, and marketing—to enhance efficiency and customer outcomes. The move is described as a forward-looking reallocation of resources rather than reactive cost-cutting. Amid this restructuring, cofounder and India CEO Saurabh Jain also resigned to pursue personal interests, noting his role in developing the AI systems that enabled these operational changes. The startup, founded in 2014 and backed by significant investors, continues to focus on leveraging technology to transform its service delivery.

Zupee laid off 200 employees on 2026-01-30.

SoftBank-backed B2B SaaS startup Whatfix has laid off approximately 60 employees, representing about 6% of its workforce of over 900. The cuts, primarily affecting sales and marketing teams, are part of a strategic shift to better align with the company's growing AI-first product lines. This move reflects a broader industry trend where companies are reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence initiatives. Whatfix, a digital adoption platform provider founded in 2013, has been investing heavily in AI capabilities in recent years to enhance its offerings and drive future growth.

GenWise, a Z47-backed lifestyle app startup focused on India's senior citizens, has shut down operations, resulting in layoffs for most of its approximately 20-person team. This follows an earlier workforce reduction of about 20% in May. The closure, announced by cofounder and CEO Nehul Malhotra, who cited a pause in active operations to evaluate strategic options like a potential buyout, highlights the challenges of monetizing digital products for older users in India. Despite raising $3.5 million in seed funding and gaining over 30 lakh users, the company reported significant losses, including a net loss of INR 12.1 crore against revenue of INR 1 crore in FY25, underscoring its struggle with adoption and sustainable business models.

Junglee Games, a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment, has laid off 350 employees from its Delhi and Bengaluru offices, affecting a significant portion of its roughly 600-person workforce in India. This restructuring follows India's recent ban on online real-money gaming (RMG) under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which forced the company to discontinue its RMG operations, including Junglee Rummy. In response, Junglee Games is shifting to a free-to-play model, redeploying retained staff to Flutter's Hyderabad global capability centre or to support this new direction. The layoffs, announced in late 2025, reflect the broader impact of regulatory changes on the gaming industry, with Flutter reporting substantial financial losses due to the ban.

Flipkart, the Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce giant, is shutting down its Israeli R&D center in Tel Aviv, laying off its entire team of approximately 40 employees. This represents 100% of the staff at that location. The closure is part of a broader global restructuring and cost-cutting initiative as Flipkart prepares for a planned IPO in 2026, which has already included reducing 25–30% of its global workforce. The decision, announced in November 2025, is also attributed to the security situation in Israel. The Tel Aviv center, established after Flipkart's 2018 acquisition of Upstream Commerce, specialized in AI, dynamic pricing algorithms, and competitive data analysis. While the local team is being let go, Flipkart stated the systems developed there remain critical, and up to 40% of the staff will stay temporarily to ensure a knowledge transfer to teams in India.

Agritech startup BharatAgri has ceased operations due to a funding crunch, resulting in the layoff of its entire workforce of 37 employees. The Bengaluru-based company, which provided AI-powered agronomy services and an ecommerce platform for farmers, was unable to secure a new funding round of $6-8 million needed to sustain operations. Despite achieving positive unit economics and growing revenue, investors deemed its total addressable market insufficient for scaling. Founded in 2017 and having raised over $14 million, the startup will return leftover capital to investors and provide severance packages to its team. The shutdown occurred recently, as reported in early 2025, marking another closure in the competitive agritech sector.

Gaming startup Gameskraft has laid off over 400 employees, representing a significant majority of its workforce, which totaled around 600. This drastic reduction follows the Indian government's ban on real money gaming (RMG) enacted in August 2025, which forced a fundamental shift in the company's operating environment. The layoffs, part of a necessary organizational restructuring for business continuity, occurred in phases through 2025, with an initial 120 cuts in September. Gameskraft, known for platforms like RummyCulture and LudoCulture, is providing severance packages and assistance to the affected employees. This event is part of an industry-wide crisis, with other major gaming firms also conducting large-scale layoffs due to the regulatory ban.

Logistics unicorn Porter has laid off over 350 employees, impacting at least 18% of its workforce of approximately 2,000. This restructuring follows the company's recent $200 million funding round and is a result of merging its truck and two-wheeler business verticals to streamline operations and eliminate redundancies. The startup, which provides B2B and B2C logistics services, confirmed the move as part of building a more agile and financially resilient organization, offering affected staff severance and career transition support.

Indian quick commerce startup Zepto has laid off approximately 300 employees as part of a broader cost-efficiency drive, moving these roles to third-party service providers to reduce fixed payroll expenses. This recent action brings the total number of impacted employees since the beginning of the year to around 1,000, reflecting the company's push to automate workflows and achieve operational frugality despite a recent $450 million funding round that valued the firm at $7 billion. The layoffs, reported on October 18, 2025, affected various departments including operations, technology, and finance, as Zepto tightens spending and hiring in a highly competitive market.

Fintech startup Simpl has laid off approximately 80 employees, a move driven by regulatory pressure from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI directed the company to halt its payment operations due to a lack of necessary licenses, effectively pausing its core buy now, pay later (BNPL) service. CEO Nitya Sharma stated the layoffs, which particularly affected sales and marketing teams, are part of restructuring to conserve capital. Despite this, Simpl maintains it is profitable and has a healthy runway. The Bengaluru-based company, which serves over 26,000 merchants and has more than 7 million users, is working with regulators to resume operations and potentially rehire staff.

Gameskraft, a gaming startup in India's media and entertainment industry, has laid off 120 employees due to the recent legislation banning real-money gaming, which forced the company to halt operations and restructure. This difficult decision, announced in early 2025, was driven by the external regulatory environment, leaving the company with no choice but to part ways with staff despite their talent and dedication. The layoffs add to the company's challenges, including a previous platform pause and significant tax disputes. Gameskraft is providing support such as extended health insurance until March 2026 and wellness services until May 2026 for affected employees. This move reflects a broader trend of layoffs and business pivots across the Indian online gaming sector following the new law.

Hike, once a unicorn startup valued at $1.4 billion in India's tech industry, has shut down entirely in September 2025, resulting in layoffs for all employees. The closure follows the Indian government's recent ban on real-money gaming platforms, which was Hike's primary business focus after pivoting from its original messaging app. Founder Kavin Bharti Mittal stated that while the company's U.S. gaming venture showed promise, scaling it globally would require a significant recapitalization that was deemed not worthwhile. This decision ends the company's 13-year run, marking a major casualty in India's $23 billion real-money gaming sector, which has seen other major players also exit or pivot due to the new regulations.

Zupee laid off 170 employees representing approximately 30% of its workforce on 2025-09-11.

Bobble AI, a Gurugram-based AI communication startup, has laid off approximately 50 employees as part of an organizational redesign aimed at building a leaner, more resilient company. While the firm attributes the move to strategic realignment of projects, processes, and people, sources link it to ongoing fundraising challenges and a slowdown in securing fresh capital. The layoffs occurred in early September 2025, with the 12-year-old company providing support such as career coaching and well-being sessions to affected staff. Despite a 25% revenue growth to ₹37.67 crore in FY24, losses widened to ₹60.88 crore, reflecting the pressures in the competitive AI and data intelligence sector.

Head Digital Works, the parent company of A23 Rummy and other gaming platforms, has laid off approximately 500 employees, which represents nearly two-thirds of its workforce, leaving the company with around 200 staff. This drastic reduction, announced in early September 2025, was a direct response to India's new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which imposed a blanket ban on real-money online gaming. The company, operating in the online skill gaming industry, cited these regulatory changes as necessitating the layoffs while it explores new business opportunities beyond gaming. The firm has also legally challenged the ban, with a hearing scheduled for September 8.

Conversational AI company Gupshup has laid off at least 100 employees in a recent cost-cutting round, as confirmed by the company. This move, part of an effort to optimize its cost structure and build a leaner foundation, comes just four months after nearly 200 employees were let go in a previous round. The layoffs, which impacted junior developers among others, were conducted without severance packages; affected staff were asked to serve a 60-day notice period or leave without compensation. Gupshup, which operates in the enterprise tech and conversational AI industry and is planning an IPO in the next 12-24 months, stated it is leveraging automation to drive efficiency and meet financial goals ahead of important corporate milestones. The company, founded in 2004 and based in San Francisco and Mumbai, has transitioned from SMS and cloud telephony to a conversational AI platform focused on enterprise solutions.

Games24x7, a major player in India's online gaming industry, has laid off approximately 400 employees in September 2025, marking its second round of job cuts within a year. This reduction comes amid severe regulatory upheaval, specifically a government ban on real-money gaming operations, which has placed significant financial pressure on the sector. The company, known for platforms like My11Circle, had previously let go of about 180 employees in May 2025, citing over-hiring during a period of regulatory uncertainty. These layoffs reflect the broader crisis facing real-money gaming companies in India, prompting government intervention through meetings to address compliance and industry concerns.

Mobile Premier League (MPL), an online gaming company valued at $2.3 billion, is laying off approximately 300 employees, which represents about 60% of its Indian workforce. This drastic downsizing, announced in early September 2025, is a direct result of the Indian government's recent ban on real-money online gaming, which targeted games like fantasy cricket and rummy. The ban has severely disrupted the industry, forcing MPL to shift its focus to free-to-play games and accelerate its expansion into international markets such as the U.S., Europe, and Brazil.

Krutrim, an Indian AI startup founded by Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal, laid off approximately 5-10% of its workforce in May 2024, affecting around 30 employees. The company, which had grown to about 400 employees, stated the restructuring was aimed at improving operational efficiency and focusing on key priorities. This move followed Krutrim's recent achievement of unicorn status after a successful funding round. The layoffs, occurring within the competitive artificial intelligence industry, reflect a strategic realignment as the company scales its operations and product development.

BeepKart, a Bengaluru-based startup in the used two-wheeler e-commerce industry, has completely shut down its operations, resulting in the layoff of its entire team. The company, which had raised over $18 million from investors like Stellaris Venture Partners, struggled with a high-cost business model featuring thin margins and aggressive, poorly planned expansion. After failing to secure a strategic merger or acquisition, the founders are now winding down the venture, selling its assets and returning remaining capital. The shutdown marks the end of a four-year effort to redefine India's pre-owned two-wheeler market.

Clear, a consumer fintech company formerly known as Cleartax, has laid off approximately 16% of its workforce, affecting around 145 employees, as part of a broader strategic restructuring that took effect on August 1, 2025. The layoffs, which occurred during the peak tax-filing season—a critical revenue period for the firm—impacted several recently hired employees, including freshers who had joined just months prior. The company, which provides taxation and financial solutions, stated it is offering enhanced severance packages, continued health insurance, and outplacement assistance to those affected. This marks the second round of job cuts in three years, following a similar reduction in 2022.

AI startup Astra, founded in 2023 and backed by Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, has ceased operations entirely, resulting in the layoff of its entire team. The company, which had a small, early-stage workforce, positioned itself as an AI-powered sales analytics platform. Co-founder and CEO Supreet Hegde announced the shutdown in a LinkedIn post, citing co-founder disagreements over growth pace, a lack of trust from enterprises regarding sensitive data, and market confusion due to the proliferation of AI agents. Despite securing two major clients, Astra never progressed beyond its beta phase. The closure occurred in mid-2024, marking the end for this SaaS venture in the competitive AI industry.

Indian AI unicorn Krutrim has laid off over 100 employees in a second round of job cuts, reportedly affecting a large portion of its linguistics team, which had around 600 members. This move, part of a strategic realignment to build leaner teams and manage resources better, follows a smaller round of layoffs in June. The company, which recently unveiled its AI assistant Kruti and announced major investments, is simultaneously stepping up hiring for its AI labs. The layoffs highlight the ongoing restructuring within the fast-growing AI startup as it balances expansion with operational efficiency.

EV financing and leasing startup Ohm Mobility has shut down operations, resulting in the layoff of its entire team. The company, which had approximately 20-30 employees, was unable to sustain growth despite five years of effort and multiple business model pivots. Founded in 2020, Ohm Mobility initially focused on connecting EV ecosystem players with financial institutions using IoT data for risk assessment. It later rebranded to Ohm Daily to target gig workers but failed to gain sufficient traction. The shutdown was confirmed in late July 2025, marking another closure in India's competitive startup and fintech sector. The company had raised around Rs 5 crore from investors including Antler India and Blume Ventures.

Y-Combinator-backed AI startup CodeParrot has shut down, resulting in layoffs for its entire team, including two engineers, as the company ceased operations. Founded in 2022 by Vedant Agarwala and Royal Jain, the developer-focused SaaS tool aimed to convert Figma designs into production-ready code using AI. Despite raising $500,000, the startup struggled with excessive burn rate and failed to secure further VC investment, reaching only $1,500 in monthly recurring revenue. After multiple pivots and a year in beta, the founders announced the shutdown in early 2024, citing the challenges of sustaining business in the competitive AI industry. CodeParrot is the second AI-focused SaaS startup to close recently, following subtl.ai.

Fashion quick commerce startup Blip has shut down just over a year after launching, resulting in the layoff of its entire team. The bootstrapped company, which operated in Bengaluru with a model promising 30-minute delivery of apparel from multiple brands, faced a critical shortage of capital that prevented expansion beyond its initial city. Co-founder Ansh Agarwal cited limited working capital and inefficient go-to-market execution as key reasons for the closure. Founded in 2024 and often described as "Zepto for fashion," Blip had aimed to scale using an omnichannel approach but ultimately could not sustain operations. The shutdown highlights the competitive and capital-intensive nature of the quick commerce fashion industry, where several well-funded competitors continue to operate.

GenAI enterprise tech startup Subtl AI has shut down after failing to secure additional funding, leading to the layoff of its entire team. The company, which launched in 2019 and employed around 10-15 people, was unable to raise a targeted $1 million seed round. CEO Vishnu Ramesh announced the closure in early July 2024, citing an inability to raise fresh capital, a lack of market focus, and infrastructure go-to-market challenges as key reasons. Operating in the competitive generative AI industry, this small-scale startup had previously raised $200,000 and aimed to build a "Private Google for enterprises" but ultimately could not sustain operations.

CARS24, a used car marketplace startup, is laying off approximately 120 employees as part of a restructuring exercise focused on non-core verticals. This follows a previous round of 200 layoffs over a month earlier. The cuts primarily affect the B2B spare parts platform 'Inspare', which is being shut down, impacting 80 employees, and the car servicing platform 'FourDoor', with 40 layoffs. The company is scaling down or closing these consumer-facing services due to struggles with market adoption and profitability, redirecting efforts toward its core transaction engine. While the exact total employee count isn't specified here, the layoffs reflect a strategic shift to streamline operations. The company has offered severance packages to affected staff, and these developments were reported around late May.

Otipy, a subscription-based grocery startup, has ceased operations, resulting in the layoff of approximately 300 employees and gig workers. The company, which had raised around $44 million and operated in the B2B2C agritech and grocery delivery space, faced insurmountable challenges due to the rapid rise of quick commerce platforms offering 10-minute deliveries. This shift in consumer preference severely impacted the subscription model, leading to financial difficulties, withheld salaries, and delayed vendor payments. The shutdown, announced in late May 2025, highlights the intense competition and market consolidation within India's tech-driven grocery industry.

VerSe Innovation, the parent company of DailyHunt and Josh, has laid off approximately 350 employees as part of a strategic restructuring aimed at workforce realignment. The move, announced this month, is intended to accelerate investments in artificial intelligence, streamline operations, and focus on long-term growth priorities. Operating in the media and entertainment industry, this unicorn startup seeks to build a more agile and future-ready organization by automating manual processes and directing resources toward growth segments. The layoffs come amid efforts to achieve profitability by the end of the fiscal year, following recent auditor concerns over internal financial controls, though the exact percentage of total employees affected was not specified.

Online gaming company Games 24x7 has laid off approximately 180 employees, representing about 22% of its workforce, which stood at 821 as of October 2024. The cuts, reported in early May 2025, primarily affect permanent staff across offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The layoffs are attributed to significant financial pressures, including the high costs associated with sponsoring the Indian Premier League through its fantasy sports division, My11Circle, and the broader industry turmoil stemming from a 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online skill-based games. The Indian gaming sector, valued around $3.7 billion, is currently facing intense regulatory scrutiny and legal disputes over tax classification, prompting companies like Games 24x7 to reduce operational expenses.

GenWise, a Z47-backed startup offering an app-based online club for senior citizens, has laid off approximately 20% of its workforce, affecting 15-20 employees across tech, marketing, product, and other departments in early May 2025. The Delhi-based company, which secured $3.5 million in seed funding in 2023, faced challenges after failing to meet growth targets promised to investors. A sharp increase in costs following the rollout of UPI payments, coupled with modest user adoption, created financial strain, prompting these cost-cutting measures. Operating in the elder care tech industry, GenWise claims a community of over 2 million older adults but struggled to balance user growth with operational spending amid a tough funding environment.

Log 9 Materials, an Indian EV battery technology startup founded in 2015, has laid off the majority of its workforce amid severe financial distress. While exact figures are not specified, sources indicate hardly any employees remain, following a series of strategic missteps and technology failures. The company, which had raised over $60 million, struggled to adapt to market realities, faced legal battles with customers, and accumulated significant debt. Key decisions around battery chemistry and business models proved unprofitable, leading to the shutdown of multiple facilities and the exit of a cofounder. The layoffs, occurring since last year, represent a dramatic fall for a startup once celebrated as a deeptech leader in India's clean tech industry.

Cars24, an Indian e-commerce platform for used cars valued at $3.3 billion, has laid off approximately 200-250 employees in late April 2025. This represents a significant workforce reduction, though the exact percentage relative to total employees is not specified. The layoffs, primarily affecting product and technology teams, are a strategic cost-cutting measure. CEO Vikram Chopra explained the decision stemmed from restructuring and over-hiring into premature projects, emphasizing a need for more deliberate growth. This move occurs amidst competitive pressure, as rival Spinny secured major funding, and follows Cars24's own substantial $450 million raise in late 2021. Despite reporting increased revenue of nearly Rs 6,917 crore in FY24, the company continues to operate at a significant net loss.

Insurance-focused SaaS startup Zopper has laid off approximately 100 employees since the beginning of 2025, with the latest round occurring earlier this week. This includes about 50 staff from tech and product teams recently, following an earlier cut of 20 from these teams and the entire 40-member insurance team earlier in the year. The layoffs, attributed to cost-cutting measures, come despite the company raising $25 million in a Series D round just five months prior. Zopper, founded in 2011 and backed by investors like Elevation Capital, provides embedded insurance APIs and has raised a total of $121 million. While its operating revenue grew significantly in FY24, net losses also increased substantially.

Conversational AI unicorn Gupshup has laid off nearly 500 employees over the past several months, including about 300 in December 2024 and another 200 earlier this month, as part of restructuring efforts to improve efficiency and profitability. The company, valued at $1.4 billion in 2021 and backed by investors like Tiger Global, stated these organizational changes aim to drive long-term profitable growth and strengthen its position in the global conversational AI market. While sources indicated the layoffs primarily affected employees from companies acquired between 2021 and 2022, Gupshup disputed this concentration. The firm, which has raised about $484 million, claims a net headcount reduction of 300 over the last 18 months and denies plans for further layoffs.

Foodtech giant Zomato has laid off approximately 600 employees from its customer support team, a move driven by performance reviews, restructuring, and an increasing shift toward AI automation. These job cuts, occurring less than a year after many were hired under a specific program, reflect broader pressures as the company navigates slowing growth in food delivery and intense competition in quick commerce. The layoffs, reported in early 2024, highlight the industry-wide trend of leveraging technology to streamline operations and reduce costs in the competitive foodtech sector.

Ola Electric, the Indian electric vehicle major led by Bhavish Aggarwal, is planning to lay off more than 1,000 employees and contract workers as part of a major restructuring effort to control costs and stem rising financial losses. This marks the company's second significant round of job cuts in less than five months, following the dismissal of around 500 employees in November 2024. The latest layoffs affect multiple departments, including procurement, fulfilment, customer relations, and charging infrastructure, and account for over a quarter of its reported workforce of approximately 4,000 as of March 2024. The move comes amid a challenging period for the company, which reported a 50% surge in losses to INR 564 crore in the December quarter, driven by declining revenue and intense competition in the electric two-wheeler market.

Flipkart has decided to shut down its subsidiary ANS Commerce, a full-stack e-commerce enabler, and is laying off employees as part of the wind-down. This closure comes three years after Flipkart's acquisition of the Gurugram-based company, despite ANS Commerce reporting a 39.4% increase in operating revenue to Rs 54 crore in FY24. The decision was driven by the unit's widening net losses, which reached Rs 73.8 crore, indicating significant financial challenges. The move, confirmed in early March 2025, represents a strategic shift for Flipkart within the competitive e-commerce and technology services industry, impacting the team that supported major brands.

Pocket FM laid off 75 employees on 2025-01-16.

ShareChat, a vernacular social media platform, is laying off approximately 5% of its workforce as part of its annual performance review cycle, affecting around 26-28 employees out of a total of 530-550. This marks the company's second round of layoffs in six months, following a similar 5% reduction in August 2024. Despite these cuts, the company's CFO stated that this is a routine bar-raising process to replace underperformers, not a cost-cutting exercise, and that ShareChat is actively hiring for key roles. The firm, which has raised about $1.3 billion from investors, reported improved financials with reduced losses and is nearing overall profitability. The layoffs reflect ongoing adjustments in the competitive social media industry.

Thrive representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2024-12-14.

In September 2024, the Bengaluru-based fintech startup Klub, backed by Peak XV and Trifecta Capital, laid off approximately 60-70 employees, reducing its workforce from over 100 to about 45—a cut of more than half. This significant downsizing, affecting most of the team in its Ahmedabad office, was driven by funding challenges, leading the company to restructure its operations. Klub has paused its cross-border commerce enablement business, a vertical launched about a year ago, and is focusing on clearing remaining inventory before potentially closing it. The company's core offering remains its revenue-based financing for businesses. CEO Anurakt Jain stated that Klub is pursuing operational efficiencies and is in active discussions to raise new capital, aiming to strengthen its financial position in the competitive fintech industry.

Ola Electric, an Indian electric vehicle manufacturer, has laid off approximately 400-500 employees, which represents around 10% of its workforce. The decision, made in late April 2024, is part of a restructuring effort aimed at improving profitability and operational efficiency as the company prepares for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). Operating in the competitive automotive and mobility industry, Ola Electric is scaling its operations to strengthen its market position ahead of the public listing.