An Indian company, Verse Innovation, which built news aggregator Dailyhunt, short video platform Josh, and hyperlocal video tool PublicVibe, laid off 150 workers, or 5% of its 3,000 employees.
Sources report that the change will increase efficiency and reduce costs. For workers making more than Rs 10 lakh annually, the corporation has imposed a pay cut of up to 11%.
About Verse Innovation
Employees with knowledge of the situation said that the Bengaluru-based company notified affected employees on Friday and announced salary cuts to its remaining employees separately on Monday. The Bengaluru-based startup’s co-founders, Umang Bedi and Virendra Gupta stated in a town hall meeting that it has decided to fire 150 workers or 5% of its workforce. Additionally, they disclosed an 11% wage reduction for the remaining workers making at least ten lakhs annually.
Verse Innovation, the latest unicorn in India funded by firms like Google and Microsoft, raised more than $800 million in fresh funding. This is a huge move. Due to the change, the advertising market has tanked severely, and well-known consumer companies relying on advertising are being affected, as well as the digital market reaching the fastest-growing markets such as India.
Current Company Valuation
According to media sources, the startup’s losses climbed to $2,563 crore in FY22, despite a 46% increase in operating revenue to $965 crore.
After receiving $227 million in funding in November 2020 from Sequoia, Microsoft, Qatar Investment Authority, Matrix Partners India, and other investors, the company—backed by Google and Microsoft—became a unicorn.
Numerous internet employers worldwide, including Amazon, Meta, Twitter, and Salesforce, have started laying off employees.
What Was Stated by the Verse Co-founder Regarding the Pay Cut and Layoffs?
Like other companies, we’ve re-evaluated our strategic priorities in light of the current economic climate. Umang Bedi, a co-founder of Verse Innovation, stated they had made steps to implement our regular biannual performance management cycle and to reduce our costs and our teams, keeping in mind the long-term health of the business and our people. Have presented innovative business ideas in a prepared statement.
Additionally, he confirmed that all current employees with yearly salaries over 10 lakh Indian rupees had their compensation lowered by 11%. To foster profitable growth, he said they remain consistently devoted and bullish throughout their entire family of apps, Josh, PublicVibe, and Dailyhunt news.
The Verse Innovation Company has been forced to reduce its staff because of economic uncertainty. Over the past few months, hundreds of workers have been laid off from companies like Byju’s, Chargebee, and Unacademy.
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