Moglix, a B2B e-commerce unicorn, has laid off 30-40 people, following a wide group of Indian firms that have reduced their personnel to cut costs since last year.
“We keep an eye out for low achievers and continue to automate activities, which can impact 2-3% of individuals annually,” the company stated in a statement.
Moneycontrol, which broke the story first, speculated that the figure may be as high as 15% of the company’s total strength.
“We have hired 700+ workers this year and plan to add 300+ people in 2023,” the business said.
The layoffs at the Tiger Global-backed unicorn come as it prepares to raise $100-150 million from new and existing investors, as VCCircle revealed last month. The campaign, which is slated to finish this quarter, is expected to yield a 20% premium over the company’s previous valuation of $2.6 billion.
Rahul Garg founded Moglix in 2015 to provide an industrial marketplace for manufacturing and infrastructure enterprises, assisting them from sourcing through distribution. Through its network of over 16,000 suppliers, it services over 500,000 small and medium-sized organizations and over 1,000 major companies across India and the UAE.
Moglix raised $250 million as part of its Series F round last year, valued at $2.6 billion. In 2021, the startup joined the unicorn club. Other investors include Alpha Wave Global (previously Falcon Edge), Jungle Ventures, Accel, Ward Ferry, and IFC. So far, the company has raised up to $470 million in equity capital.
Startups have been slashing expenditures to ensure a longer runway due to a downturn in investor mood and a focus on profitability. Companies are firing employees in order to save money. Last year, over 19,000 startup employees were laid go.
PayU, a payment service provider, laid off roughly 150 people last month, accounting for about 6% of its workforce. Freshworks, a Nasdaq-listed software-as-a-service provider, was previously acquired.
