It seems that the rough patch of 2022 for startup employees is further spilling into 2023 considering the number of companies, including the well-funded ones, handing pink slips as funding dries up.
Huge Layoffs With The Start Of 2023
A latest media report suggests that almost 14 startups in India have laid off over 2,100 employees in the first three weeks of 2023.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the start of 2023 is not going very smooth for Indian startups as the number of layoffs in this period has crossed last year’s three-week average of around 1,060.
It appears that startup sackings are continuing as more companies take up the layoff route in an attempt to stay afloat amid a stubborn funding winter.
Image Source – www.moneycontrol.com
Layoffs In 2022
Among others, the startups such as Medibuddy, Swiggy, and Sharechat have joined the list of companies that have together laid off over 20,500 employees since 2022.
There were mass layoffs since the beginning of 2022 which was further followed by a year of aggressive hiring.
The high employee costs as tech salaries skyrocketed in 2021.
Basically, the new-age tech startups led the talent war to support their unprecedented growth with funds pouring into the Indian startup ecosystem.
Over 60 startups have laid off employees in large numbers Since the beginning of 2022.
Image Source – www.moneycontrol.com
It all started citing funding crunch and restructuring while some shifted the blame onto employees’ performance, calling the layoffs standard.
Not only that, the startups that went on a hiring frenzy last year to support their growth at speed, ended up with subpar talent in excess at a time when the ecosystem turned away from spending to grow to profitability at all costs.
During such times of crisis, some such startups had to make tough decisions that had a bigger impact than others.
Around six companies on the list let go of more than 1,000 employees since the beginning of 2022.
But, the worst hit is taken by the four of these companies including Lido learning, Byju’s, Unacademy, and Vedantu belonging to the edtech sector or the poster boy of last year’s startup party.
