Introduction
Gramophone, a company headquartered in Indore, has been in the food industry since its inception in 2016. The company is supported by a Series B funding of $17 million and has investors such as Info Edge (India) Ltd, Better Capital and Asha Impact. Gramophone has been providing high-quality food products to its customers, and in the past few years, it had made significant advancements in the industry. However, the company has recently grabbed headlines due to the news of laying off 75 of its employees. Let us take a closer look at what led to the layoffs and why this news was in the air.
Company’s History and Performance
Gramophone began its journey in 2016 as an e-commerce platform that provided fresh fruits and vegetables to customers. The company initially started its operations in Indore and later expanded to other cities like Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi. In 2020, the company launched its own private brand, which helped the company to increase its revenue. Gramophone was also successful in raising a Series B funding of $17 million from its investors in April 2021. The funding round shows the confidence of investors in the company’s growth potential. Overall, Gramophone has been performing well in the industry and was looking all set to set new benchmarks in the food industry.
Reason for Layoffs
Although Gramophone had performed well in the past few years, the company struggled to cope with the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic hit the food industry hard, and Gramophone was no exception. The company was forced to shut down operations in some of the cities where it had started its operations. The closure of operations resulted in a decline in revenue, which affected the company’s financials. With the lockdowns easing around India, Gramophone was looking to restart operations in the cities where it had shut down, but it needed to cut down its costs. One of the ways the company decided to cut costs was by laying off 75 of its employees.
Number of Employees laid off and Remarks from the Company
The company laid off 75 of its employees, which was a significant number considering the company’s size. Gramophone, in its statement to the Economic Times, said that the company had to take this decision to cut down costs and survive the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19. It also added that the company would extend all possible support to the employees who were laid off and that they would be given adequate compensation as per the company’s policy.
Conclusion
Gramophone is one of the many companies that had to take the difficult decision of laying off employees in 2021 due to the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company had performed well in the past few years, but the pandemic forced the company to change its business plans. The decision to lay off employees was a difficult one, but it was necessary for the company to cut down its costs and survive. Gramophone remains optimistic about its future and plans to continue providing high-quality food products to its customers.
