Logistics startup Rivigo lays off up to 100 employees in past few months; revokes campus offers

Gurugram-based logistics startup Rivigo has reportedly handed the pink slips to up to 100 staff in the past few months under pressure from investors to reduce costs, said a media report.

Rivigo, backed by Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners, reportedly laid off 70-100 employees, mainly its freight marketplace team.

It also reportedly rolled back around 50 offers from 10 premier campuses, including National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Indian School of Business, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), before the joining dates, said a report in The Economic Times citing documents accessed by it.

Though the cofounder of Rivigo, Gazal Kalra, confirmed the layoffs are related to the recent attrition to “performance and market dynamics,” it is said that Rivigo has been under pressure from investors to cut costs, move away from an asset-heavy business, and improve its unit economics across all business verticals, the report said.

The last full year ending 2018 March showed revenue of Rs 720 crore and expense of Rs 990 crore.

Rivigo, set up in 2014, has not faced any major problems to raise funds. On 11 July, it raised $65 million (about Rs 450 crore) in a funding round led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners. “Rivigo raised a funding of $65 million in the ongoing series E round led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners,” the Gurugram-based company said.

This was the second round of funding led by Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners, after a gap of 18 months.

The company plans to utilise the funds to further strengthen its technology and network coverage, it said in a statement.

Started in 2014, the startup has the largest network coverage with more than 29,000 pin codes in India.

--With PTI inputs