Shop101 Lays Off 200 Employees and Plans to Cut Salaries: Here’s What You Need to Know
Shop101, an e-commerce platform based in Mumbai, recently announced that it will lay off 200 employees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which specializes in helping people start their own online businesses, has also warned that remaining employees may receive salary cuts.
Shop101 was founded in 2015 by Abhinav Jain, Aditya Gupta, and Kalpak Chhajed. The platform supports individuals who are interested in creating small businesses, enabling them to curate their collection, list their products, manage orders, and promote it. Shop101 has reportedly helped over 2 million customers launch their businesses online.
Shop101 is funded by a variety of famous investors, including GGV Capital, Kalaari Capital, Unilever Ventures, and other Series C investors. This has enabled the business to raise approximately $19 million in funding so far.
Shop101 has achieved impressive growth since its inception. The organization has expanded into 1200 cities and has facilitated thousands of small businesses. However, like every business around the world, Shop101 has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shop101 stated that the effect of the pandemic on its own revenue, along with the decrease in customer spending, necessitated the reduction in workforce. Due to the economic crisis which is gripping India and the world, companies are taking the necessary steps to cut back in order to remain afloat. This has resulted in many layoffs across different industries.
The recent layoffs by Shop101 have been reported to affect approximately 40% of its workforce, which is a significant number. People are deeply worried about the implications of the layoffs, particularly those who will be losing their jobs.
Kalpak Chhajed, the co-founder of Shop101, said in a statement about the layoffs, “Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences have necessitated difficult decisions for our business. We have had to let some of our team members go and also adjust compensation levels for others. This was an incredibly difficult and heartbreaking decision that we had to make as a last resort, and we are doing everything we can to support our employees who have been impacted.”
Shop101 is dedicated to ensuring that those who are laid off will receive comprehensive support, including severance, which can help support the impacted workers’ transition to new positions.
In Summary
Shop101 is a Mumbai-based e-commerce platform that enables people to create small businesses. The company has grown rapidly since its inception in 2015, making it easier for many people to launch businesses online. However, like many businesses globally, Shop101 has been impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic. As a result, they have made the incredibly tough decision to lay off 200 employees, roughly 40% of their workforce. Shop101 is supportive of their employees and is providing them with the resources they need during this tough period.
