B2B Ecommerce Unicorn Moglix Joins Layoff Spree, Fires 40 Employees

SUMMARY

In a statement, Moglix said that only 40 employees, or 2-3% of its workforce, were impacted after an annual performance review

As per a report, around 200 employees, or 15% of Moglix’s workforce, might be impacted by the layoffs

According to Inc42’s ‘Indian Startup Layoff Tracker’, more than 18,000 employees were fired in 2022 amidst the funding winter

Business-to-business (B2B) industrial goods marketplace unicorn Moglix has become the latest Indian startup to layoff employees amid the funding winter, sacking 40 employees.

The ecommerce unicorn might have fired as many as 200 employees or about 15% of its workforce, Moneycontrol reported citing sources. However, in an official statement, Moglix said that only 40 employees, or 2-3% of its workforce, were impacted after an annual performance review.

“We have hired 700+ people this year and continue to expand with a target to hire 300+ people for 2023. We keep a watch out for low performers and continue to automate tasks, for which annually 2-3% of people can be impacted,” said Moglix in the statement.

The Moglix layoff comes nearly a year after the startup raised $250 Mn in its Series F funding round, doubling its valuation from its Series E round to $2.6 Bn. The funding round saw the participation of existing investors Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global, along with new investor Ward Ferry.

Moglix’s loss rose 88.1% to INR $21.03 Mn in FY22 from $11.18 Mn in FY21. Meanwhile, its revenue rose 192% to $306.9 Mn from $105.2 Mn in FY21.

Founded by Rahul Garg in 2015, Moglix sells a wide range of industrial tools and equipment, serving industries such as automotive, cement, chemicals, consumer durables, FMCG, metals, mining, oil & gas and pharmaceuticals.

The B2B marketplace claims that it has over 150K SME clients and more than 2,000 suppliers in the country. Moglix competes with the likes of OfBusiness and Infra.Market, along with B2B units of ecommerce giants Flipkart and Amazon.

The ongoing funding winter and the macroeconomic headwinds saw Indian startups laying off thousands of employees in 2022. According to Inc42’s ‘Indian Startup Layoff Tracker’, more than 18,000 employees were fired in 2022 alone.

The change of year seems to have brought no change to the fortunes of the startup ecosystem as layoffs continue in 2023 as well. The same was made evident by upGrad-owned Harappa Education, which recently laid off around 73 employees or 40% of its workforce.