Snapdeal, an online marketplace headquartered in India, is reportedly laying off 500 to 600 employees. The cuts will affect all of Snapdeal’s divisions, including the marketplace, online payment division FreeCharge and logistics business Vulcan Express.
The ecommerce company has raised more than $1.5 billion in total funding, including a $200 million round in early 2016 that generated an estimated valuation of between $6.5 billion and $7 billion. That valuation took a slight drop to an estimated $6.5 billion in August with a $21 million round; the company also discussed raising funds from SoftBank last month at a valuation in the $3 billion to $4 billion range, according to Mint.
The staff cuts come as Snapdeal faces growing competition from other ecommerce companies. Amazon announced plans to invest $3 billion in India last June, bringing the online shopping giant’s total planned investment in the country to $5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. A few months later, reports surfaced that Walmart was considering backing Flipkart, an Indian ecommerce company and Snapdeal competitor.
Article by PitchBook
