Agritech startup WayCool has become the latest Indian startup to have laid off employees amid an ongoing funding winter, having reportedly fired 300 employees in a restructuring exercise.
According to sources cited by TOI, the startup, which has raised more than $350 Mn in funding, has conducted the restructuring to chase profitability.
WayCool is said to have around 2,500 employees. While some employees are said to have resigned, the remaining impacted employees were told that updates on the restructuring will be shared on Wednesday (July 12).
Karthik Jayaraman, the cofounder and MD of WayCool, is said to have informed the decision to the employees via a video address on Monday (July 10), adding that the company is working on achieving profitability by December.
Apart from the layoffs, WayCool will also shut down some of its distribution centres and a few new experimental projects. Sources also told TOI that the agritech startup sent a communication to employees saying that the variable payout will be delayed.
“We plan to focus on our core and profitable businesses, slowing down on some of our experimental initiatives as we work to grow further. This will change the profile of our business but is aimed at ensuring a sustainable and long-term success of our enterprise,” a WayCool spokesperson told Inc42.
The layoffs at WayCool come after it raised $117 Mn from marquee investors including Lightrock, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Redwood in January 2022, valuing the startup at around $700 Mn. The startup also secured nearly $47 Mn in two subsequent rounds during 2022 from 57 Stars and Stride Ventures.
WayCool is also said to be in talks to raise another funding round, between $50-70 Mn at a unicorn valuation. Speaking at Inc42’s ‘The Makers Summit 2023’ in March this year, WayCool cofounder Sanjay Dasari said that the company was mulling a 2025 public listing.
However, the agritech continues to rack up losses. In FY22, its net loss zoomed 142% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 360.5 Cr. However, operating revenue surged 2.4X to INR 926.9 Cr from INR 382.3 Cr in FY21.
Founded in 2015 by Jayaraman and Dasari, WayCool is a full-stack agritech platform that connects farmers looking to sell produce to retailers, traders and processors. It also offers SaaS products for clients across domains such as procurement, processing and warehousing and distribution, among others.
India’s startup ecosystem is going through a rough patch of reduced funding and increased macroeconomic pressures. As investors continue to demand profitability from many marquee startups, many of them have resorted to layoffs.
Per Inc42’s ‘Indian Startup Layoff Tracker’, more than 100 startups have fired 27,300+ employees since the start of 2022, including names such as Ola, Swiggy, Zomato, BYJU’S, Vedantu and Unacademy, among others.
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