Softbank-backed domestic e-commerce unicorn Meesho has, in its latest round of layoffs, relieved as many as 251 employees or 15% of its existing workforce, according to Moneycontrol.
In a May 5 email informing employees about the company’s decision, co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey noted that the move was necessitated due to ‘over-hiring,’ added Moneycontrol.
“As leaders, we made judgment errors in over-hiring ahead of the curve. At the same time, we could have run our organisational structure in a more effective and lean manner overall,” Aatrey wrote.
He continued: “Our spans and layers were inflated, and this could have unintended consequences on our speed to execute. While we are confident that the Meesho business will stay strong, the economic reality is here to stay. We are now faced with the hard truth of aligning our people costs with the new projections for our business. We should have done better here.”
Those being impacted will receive an email in the next 60 minutes, the message further stated, adding that the Bengaluru-based firm will then share personal links to facilitate one-on-one conversations between the outgoing people and their managers.
The departing ‘Meeshoites,’ can, however, continue to use their official Gmail and Slack accounts till Sunday evening, as per Aatrey’s email.
Compensation for laid off employees
Expressing how ‘grateful’ it was to the staff members being laid off, Meesho said it will:
(1.) pay their full salary for their notice period, and an additional month.
(2.) provide a tenure-based payment of 15 days pay for every completed year of service (rounded off to the nearest year).
(3.) extend family insurance coverage till March 31, 2024.
(4.) relax ESOP (employees stock ownership plan) for the workers being laid off, to ensure they remain shareholders in the organisation.
Meesho layoffs 2022
Last year, in the previous round of job cuts, Meesho terminated 250 employees from Superstore, its grocery arm.
