Layoffs Hit Open: Neo-Banking Startup Lays Off 47 Employees, Founders Take 50% Pay Cut As Company Looks to Optimise Operations
Neobanking platform OPEN has laid off 47 employees, joining a long list of startups that have had to trim their workforce amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions. The founders of the fintech platform have also taken a 50% pay cut.
Delhi, April 21: Neo-banking platform OPEN has laid off 47 employees, joining a long list of startups that have had to trim their workforce amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions. The founders of the fintech platform have also taken a 50% pay cut. The Kerala based company in a statement said that it is looking to optimise its operations.
OPEN said in a statement that “While 47 Openers were exited based on performance, the company is actively recruiting for critical functions such as growth marketing, product, and sales functions to continue growing the business and better serve its customers.” Accenture Layoff: Tech Layoffs Deepens As IT Firm Announces 19,000 Jobs Cuts, Delays Freshers Recruitments; Top Five Points.
The company has added that apart from its four cofounders, no other employees will have to face paycuts. CRISIL on Tech Layoffs 2023: Job Cuts Did Not Have Any Impact on Education Loan Repayments in FY23.
While the startup hasn’t provided a severance package, it has given a one-month notice period worth of salary to the impacted employees.
OPEN cofounder and CEO Anish Achuthan said that “Our recent staffing changes were driven solely by performance evaluations. We also ensured deserving high performers get 20-30% average hikes and Esops (employee stock options). We are actively hiring across critical functions such as growth marketing, product and sales and are one of the very few startups with visibility on profitability and runway above 30 months to well face the market conditions,” reported Inc42.
Before the layoffs, OPEN had close to 600 employees.
Open, founded in 2017, provides small businesses with payroll and accounting tools and integrates with their current account. It competes with the likes of Razorpay X and Niyo. OPEN became the 100th unicorn from India after raising $50 million in its Series D round led by India Infoline (IIFL) with participation from existing investors Temasek, Tiger Global, and 3one4 Capital in may last year.
The layoff comes after several other startups had to let go off employees this year. Those startups include Simpl, ShareChat, Dunzo and Unacademy.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2023 09:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).