UpScalio, which manages several direct-to-customer (D2C) brands, has laid off 15% of its workforce or around 40 employees basis individual performance in November 2022, in the first such layoffs at the company.
The GII-backed company is now left with around 230 employees post the layoffs that took place in December last year. Individuals were laid across departments and received a standard severance package per the company policy.
"We take a high bar on performance at UpScalio. Additionally, while UpScalio has been able to grow aggressively, we always keep a keen eye on profitability. As part of our standard annual employee appraisal process, in December (2022), we had to let go of 15% of our staff," said Ankur Singh, head of people and culture at UpScalio.
Online news portal Entrackr reported the development first.
Last year, the Thrasio-style venture went on a hiring spree. The company claimed to have doubled down its employee headcounts to 200 in the six months to September 2022, along with an in-house customer experience team of about 40 people.
Founded in 2021 by Gautam Kshatriya, Saaim Khan and Nitin Agarwal, UpScalio provides finances to digital-first brands selling on marketplaces such as Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart and Nykaa. It manages brands' key operations including multi-marketplace management, digital marketing, branding, logistics, sourcing, finance and business operations.
Till September 2022, the company had acquired stakes in 12 brands across office furniture, high-end kitchen appliances, trekking bags and backpacks, footwear, computer peripherals, kitchenware, laptop sleeves and bags, and auto accessories.
The company last raised $15 million in its pre-Series B funding led by GII, with participation from Northern Arc and Unity bank. It had also raised $42.5 million in its Series A round led by Presight Capital in August 2021.
In the financial year 2023, UpScalio is looking to post a revenue of close to Rs 350 crore. The company has yet to file its financials for FY22 with the Registrar of Companies.
Last year, Indian startups were forced to let go of thousands of employees to a funding crunch as well as the shift of focus toward profitability from growth. Going into 2023, at least three more layoffs have been reported. Besides UpScalio, business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce unicorn Moglix as well as UpGrad-owned skilling platform Harappa Education have been reported to have let go of employees.
While Moglix has laid off 30-40 employees, Harappa Education has fired close to 60-70 individuals across verticals such as human resources, product, design and continent.