Dunzo, a hyperlocal quick commerce player backed by Google and Reliance Retail, has made the decision to defer up to 50 percent of salaries for some employees, according to sources. The company has specifically deferred half of the June salary for employees at the manager level and above, citing cash-flow issues as the reason behind this measure.
Sources indicate that employees earning INR 75,000 and above at Dunzo have received only a partial payment of their salaries. The remaining amount is expected to be credited to their accounts before July 25.
“Whoever gets paid 75k+ and above has received nearly 50 per cent of the salary for this month, and the rest will be paid before 25th of this month,” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In April, Dunzo, a company headquartered in Bengaluru, successfully concluded a financing round, raising $75 million through convertible notes. This came after a significant equity funding round in January 2022, where the company secured $240 million in funding. Reliance Retail took the lead in this investment round. As of now, Reliance Retail holds a 25.8% stake in Dunzo, while Google possesses approximately a 20% stake. In total, Dunzo has accumulated $457.6 million across 19 rounds of funding.
Dunzo’s recent advancements occur amidst the backdrop of a previous workforce reduction in April, during which over 30 percent or more than 300 employees were laid off.
Dunzo declined to provide any comments regarding the ongoing developments. Notably, this marks the second instance of workforce rationalization at Dunzo in the current year. Earlier in January, the company had implemented a cost-cutting measure by laying off approximately 3 percent of its employees.
Dunzo is undergoing a restructuring of its business model and is set to close approximately 50 percent of its dark stores, according to reports. In an effort to adapt to changing market conditions, the company plans to forge delivery partnerships with supermarkets and various other merchants.
In late December 2022, the company also made the decision to shut down approximately 20-30 percent of its dark stores in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad. Quick grocery delivery, also known as quick commerce, refers to the speedy home delivery of groceries typically within 10-30 minutes.
