Indian IT and startup companies laid off workers in 2023
Tens of thousands of tech workers worldwide have been laid off in recent weeks. After the pandemic, companies face over-hiring, cost pressures, and funding issues. Since 2023, layoffs have increased from last year.
Recent projections predict 20,000 job cuts in the next six months, with certain profiles at risk. Layoffs have hit India too. Amazon India laid off 1000 employees in 2023, starting the layoff season.
Twitter closed two of its three Indian offices and told its employees to work from home, highlighting Elon Musk’s efforts to cut costs and turn the struggling social media service profitable. Bloomberg reported that Twitter closed its Delhi and Mumbai offices after firing over 90% of its 200-plus Indian employees late last year. The Bengaluru office remains open.
Google India fired over 450 employees from various departments. This year, the company cut 12,000 jobs—6% of its global workforce. Google India layoffs may have been part of the previously announced cuts or a new round.
Some companies are hiring in the country despite layoffs. TCS, KPMG India, and Zomato will hire, not layoff.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) chief HR officer Milind Lakkad told PTI that the company prefers to train new hires for long careers rather than lay them off. He added that the company believes it is responsible for making new hires productive and valuable.
Global accounting firm layoffs are unlikely to affect KMPG. “Our business outlook continues to remain very strong,” Sinha told Mint. We hired freshers from over 100 graduate, engineering, and business schools this year, up 35% from last year. KPMG India remains focused on growth opportunities in India, aligning our hiring to our growth strategy, engaging with potential talent, and providing dynamic growth opportunities to all our people.” Two months after Zomato laid off 3% of its staff for regular performance, CEO urged applicants for more than 800 open positions.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told St. Teresa’s College students in Kerala that US tech companies are laying off, not India. He added that 18 lakh tech and electronics jobs have been created in two years.
Startups cut staff in India since 2023, too. In a “restructuring exercise,” food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy fired 380 of its 6,000 employees. Google-backed delivery platform Dunzo laid off 3% of its staff due to restructuring. LinkedIn reports 90 layoffs from the company’s 3,000 employees. Layoff numbers were not disclosed. The company is delaying its public listing until its quick commerce business matures. Rebel Foods, which owns Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, and Oven Story, and edtech unicorn Lead School also fired employees. In a “restructuring exercise,” Bengaluru-based Ola Cabs laid off employees from some verticals “despite the unknown number
After 2500 layoffs in October, Byju’s ed-tech division laid off nearly 1,500 design, engineering, and production workers.
UpGrad-owned 70 of Harappa Education’s 200 employees were fired in 2023. The human resources department warned departing employees of more layoffs. As it transitions to a test product app called NextLevel, Unacademy-owned Relevel fired 40 employees, or 20% of its workforce, in 2023.
Bounce, WestBridge Capital-backed voice automation startup Skit.ai, Tiger Global-backed industrial goods marketplace Moglix, and UpScalio, a Thrasio-style venture that finances e-commerce brands, also laid off employees.