Two Months After Raising $35 Mn, Third Wave Coffee Fires 80+ Employees

Third Wave Coffee’s cofounder and current CEO Sushant Goel will transition from his current role to a member of the board

SUMMARY

The layoff exercise began earlier this week and impacted almost all the departments, sources told Inc42, adding that the startup has also not cleared some vendor payments for quite some time

Third Wave Coffee confirmed the layoffs with Inc42 and said that the one-time restructuring exercise impacted less than 10% of the organisation

Third Wave Coffee, which competes against the likes of Slay Coffee, Blue Tokai, and StarBucks, incurred a loss of INR 14.6 Cr in FY22

Less than three months after raising a funding of $35 Mn, Bengaluru-based coffee QSR chain Third Wave Coffee has sacked around 10% of its workforce in a restructuring exercise.

The layoff exercise began earlier this week and impacted almost all the departments in the company, sources told Inc42, adding that over 80 employees lost their jobs in this exercise.

The startup has also not cleared the dues of some of its vendors for quite some time, they added.

In a statement, Third Wave Coffee confirmed the layoffs with Inc42. “TWC post a strategic review has decided on a one-time restructuring exercise to consolidate our teams, impacting less than 10% of the organisation. As an organisation we are in a strong position post the recent fundraise. We will continue to scale and build TWC as India’s most loved coffee brand.”

However, neither did the startup address Inc42’s queries on pending vendor payments nor did it share details about the severance package being offered to the impacted employees.

Third Wave Coffee also didn’t disclose the number of employees it had prior to the restructuring exercise. However, as per LinkedIn, it has around 580 employees.

Earlier in September, the startup raised $35 Mn in a Series C funding round led by Creagis. The funding round also saw participation from existing investors, including WestBridge Capital and Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar.

As per media reports, the startup raised the funding at $150 Mn valuation.

Back then, the startup said it would utilise the fresh capital to double down on technology and product innovation to deliver superior cafe experience across the country.

Founded in 2017 by Ayush Bathwal, Anirudh Sharma and Sushant Goel, the startup currently operates over 100 stores across the country. It also sells coffee products through its own website and ecommerce marketplaces.

The startup incurred a loss of INR 14.6 Cr in FY22, a 230% increase compared to the previous fiscal year, whereas total revenue increased 177% to INR 32 Cr.

Third Wave Coffee competes against the likes of Slay Coffee, Blue Tokai, StarBucks, among others.