Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech platform Simpl has let go of around 15% of its employees in a significant workforce reduction exercise.
Sources privy to the development have revealed at least 100 employees across various departments were let go and the focus was on higher-paying roles such as engineering and product functions.
Before the latest downsizing, Simpl employed around 650 individuals, encompassing core operations, interns and call center agents.
Nityanand Sharma, the company’s founder and CEO, conducted a brief all-hands town hall meeting on Wednesday morning, where he addressed the layoffs, expressing regret for the decision and assuring support for those impacted, including outplacement assistance, said a person affected by the latest trim.
This marks the second consecutive year of layoffs for the startup, which let go of approximately 160-170 employees in March 2023.
Notably, the latest round has also affected some recently-hired employees, with some having spent only one or one and half months with the company, sources added.
“As an organisation committed to creating shared value for our merchants and millions of customers across the country, we have undertaken a series of measures to improve operational efficiencies, reduce fixed and overhead costs, along with taking the difficult decision of letting go of some of our talented employees. These efforts are enabling us to accelerate our journey towards profitability and build a fiscally-prudent organisation,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
During the previous layoff round in 2023, the company had cited an overestimation of hiring needs triggered by the assumption that demand for e-commerce services would continue to grow post-pandemic.
“I am responsible for making this difficult decision and understand the gravity of its impact on each of you, particularly those of you who are impacted during these uncertain macroeconomic conditions,” Sharma had then said in a letter to employees.