100 employees laid-off by grocery-focused social commerce firm Dealshare

The grocery-focused social commerce firm Dealshare, managed by Merabo Labs Pvt. Ltd., has announced on Friday that it has let go of 100 people, or around 6% of its 1,500-person staff, across a number of verticals as part of a corporate reorganization process.

“As part of our business restructuring plan and to sustain growth, we have taken a difficult decision to reduce the size of the team by 100 employees which constitutes only 6% of the company. We have taken adequate measures to compensate the affected employees,” a company statement said.

The social commerce business made cuts across all areas, according to the company.

The idea for realignment comes amid difficult macroeconomic circumstances that, according to the company’s founder and co-chief executive Sourjyendu Medda, are expected to persist in the near future. “We have toned down the business plan a bit in terms of geographical expansion, and the newer spheres of the business that we were going to invest into,” Medda said.

The company aims to save costs in areas of its business “that may require longer periods of capital injection and expenditures before becoming profitable.” In order to save expenses, the company plans to restructure its operations, especially in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, two freshly introduced areas. 150 cities now host its operations.

The company will provide the terminated workers an approximate three-month notice period and out-placement assistance. According to Medda, if an employee doesn’t receive a job offer by the end of the three months, the employer may extend the notice period.

The company’s annual revenue run rate (ARR) peaked in March–April 2022 at nearly $900 million, from which it has decreased by about one-third to $600 million after cutting its cash burn each month by almost two-thirds.

Even though the firm’s sales growth was expected to reach roughly $1933 crore by the end of the financial year (FY) 2022, the chief executive warned that the company would not be able to break even by the end of FY23. Dealshare lost 67 crore rupees at the conclusion of fiscal year 22.

With this move, the company joins the lengthy list of companies that are firing staff members in the midst of a difficult macroeconomic situation.