OLX Joins Global Tech Layoffs, To Fire 15% Of Its Workforce

Online classifieds platform OLX is reportedly laying off 15% of its global workforce, which is expected to impact about 1,500 employees.

The Prosus-owned company has over 10,000 employees globally, as per its website, with offices in India, Bulgaria, South Africa, Poland, Ukraine, among others.

However, the number of employees which will be impacted by the layoffs in India is not clear.

The development was reported by Financial Express. OLX did not immediately respond to Inc42’s request for comment. The story would be updated on receiving the company’s response. 

Confirming the development with Financial Express, a company spokesperson said that OLX would be reducing workforce across all countries, business units, and job functions.

“OLX is taking necessary measures to reduce its cost structure in light of changing macroeconomic conditions. Regrettably, this means we are reducing the size of our workforce across the company. We are sorry to part ways with these valuable contributors, but doing so is necessary to meet our future ambitions,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

The latest job cuts at OLX come amid an ongoing wave of layoffs at tech companies across the world due to high inflation and fears of an impending recession. 

The Indian startup ecosystem was also hit by the macroeconomic headwinds and funding winter, resulting in startups laying off over 18,000 employees in 2022. The change of year failed to change the situation, with startups like Ola, LEAD, Harappa Education and Unacademy firing employees in 2023. Tech giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft also announced layoffs in the new year.

Earlier, in 2020, OLX laid off close to 250 people from its sales and support teams.

Having started its global operations in 2006, OLX entered India in 2009. It directly competes with Quikr, along with the companies like Cars24 and Clickindia.