The startup said that the exercise is necessary “to ensure the long-term sustainability” of the organisation
The tech department would be the worst hit by the layoffs
In October, it was reported that the startup fired 50 employees. Prior to that, it laid off about 200 US-based writers in July 2024
Audio entertainment platform Pocket FM
is undertaking yet another restructuring exercise, which will result in about 75 employees losing their jobs.
The startup said that the exercise is necessary “to ensure the long-term sustainability” of the organisation.
“As part of our commitment to building a more efficient and profitable organisation, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with close to 75 of our valued team members,” a spokesperson of Pocket FM said in a statement.
However, Inc42 has learnt that the number of employees likely to be impacted by the restructuring exercise could be much higher than the number quoted by Pocket FM.
Moneycontrol was the first to report the development. It said that the tech department would be the worst hit by the layoffs.
This would be the second restructuring exercise at Pocket FM within a few months. In October, it was reported that the startup fired 50 employees. Prior to that, it laid off about 200 US-based writers in July 2024.
Founded by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS and Prateek Dixit in 2018, Pocket FM is an audio streaming (series) platform that offers diverse content across multiple languages and genres, including romance, science fiction and action thriller among others.
Last year, Pocket FM bagged $103 Mn (around INR 857 Cr) in its Series D funding round led by Lightspeed, with participation from Stepstone Group. Back then, the startup said it would use the capital to strengthen its position in the US market as well as expand its offerings in Europe and Latin American markets.
The startup claims to get 70% of its revenue from the US, followed by 15% from India, and the remaining from other markets.
In November last year, Pocket FM claimed that its global revenue soared 496% to INR 1,051.97 Cr in FY24 from INR 176.36 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Additionally, its global loss declined by 21% to INR 165 Cr during the year under review from INR 209 Cr in FY23.
