Euler Motors Trims 10% Workforce Within 6 Months Of Raising $60 Mn Funding

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Euler Motors has laid off 10% of its employees in a restructuring effort, six months after raising $60 Mn in its Series C funding round.

“We are restructuring our company to better deliver to customers as well as to investor expectations of greater efficiency in the context of changing global circumstances,” said a company spokesperson in a statement on Monday (April 10).

“Our decision to restructure, however, meant that we had to part with approximately 10% of our employees from across the organisation – many of whom have made invaluable contributions to our growth and success,” the spokesperson said.

The startup claimed that it has provided “appropriate” severance to the laid-off employees. As per the company’s LinkedIn page, Euler Motors has over 500 employees in the startup. 

According to an Inc42 source, the number of impacted employees stands at around 180-200. 

The development comes at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem has already laid off over 24,000 employees since last year amid global macroeconomic uncertainty and a severe funding crunch.

However, so far, layoffs in the EV industry were a rarity due to increased adoption and capital infusion by investors. Euler is the second EV startup which has reported layoffs. In January this year, EV startup Bounce laid off around 3%-4% of its total workforce.

Founded by Saurav Kumar in 2018, Euler Motors works in the three-wheeler commercial EV segment. It already has established collaborations with ecommerce and hyperlocal delivery players like BigBasket and Flipkart to provide them with EV fleets for logistics and delivery.

Despite the increasing demand for electric three-wheelers, particularly in the B2B use cases,  Euler Motors’ loss is on the rise. The startup’s net loss almost doubled to INR 36.3 Cr in FY22. While its operating revenue jumped 58%, its expenses were also up 1.8X during the period.

Meanwhile, Euler Motors, in its statement today, said that it continues to maintain year-on-year growth with a “strong” product order book and remains steadfast in its pursuit to develop the most superior products delivering the best ROI.

The startup had raised its last round from Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC in October last year with participation from the likes of Blume Ventures, ADB Ventures, and Athera Venture Partners, among others.

Euler Motors’ layoff also comes on the heels of the launch of its new vehicle. In a separate statement today, the startup announced the launch of its advanced version of HiLoad EV 2023, which it claims to have the highest battery pack and range in the three-wheeler cargo segment. 

Euler Motors competes with the likes of Piaggio, Mahindra, and Altigreen Propulsion Labs, among others.

As per Vahan data, commercial three-wheeler goods vehicle registration grew to 82,850 in 2022 from 71,657 the year prior. This year, already 28,441 units of those vehicles have got registrations.

The development was first reported by DealStreetAsia.