New Delhi: Koo, the Bengaluru-based microblogging platform, has recently announced that it has laid off about 30 percent of its workforce to reduce role redundancies and increase business efficiency. According to sources, the company has a total workforce of about 300 people, and around 90 employees will be impacted by the decision. This move comes about a month after a few media reported that Koo was losing traction on active user count, with its monthly active users (MAUs) declining to 4.1 million in January, down from around 9.4 million in July 2022.
Koo has clarified that the total number of layoffs, including the previous two rounds, does not exceed 30 percent of its total workforce. In September last year, the Tiger Global-backed startup laid off 15 employees as it streamlined operations. Then again, in February, the company trims around 30 employees, including a few from the top management, to keep its costs in check.
According to reports, Koo has also been unable to raise funds, which has led to cost-cutting measures. However, Koo has stated that it is currently not looking to raise capital and remains “well capitalised”. To counter the declining MAUs, Koo has reportedly cut back on its expenses to bring down the monthly cash burn rate to around Rs 6 crore, from about Rs 10 crore that the company was losing each month till at least the beginning of this year.
The company has said that the cost-cutting exercise is aimed at addressing role redundancies and that it has supported the impacted employees through compensation packages, extended health benefits, and outplacement services. Koo’s spokesperson told, “Like most startups Koo also built in a workforce to account for spikes. Given the current market environment and external realities of a global slowdown, we get affected too.”
Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka Founded Koo in 2020. It has raised over $70 million from investors such as Blume Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Accel, Kalaari Capital, and others. With over 60 million downloads, Koo claims to be the world’s second-largest microblogging platform after Elon Musk-owned Twitter. The company has a presence in over 100 countries and offers more than 20 global languages.
Koo’s revenues have increased by 75 percent year-on-year from Rs 8 lakh in FY21 to Rs 14 lakh in FY22. However, its losses have jumped 460 percent from Rs 35 crore in FY21 to Rs 197 crore in FY22. The company’s focus on cost-cutting measures and business efficiency could help it improve its unit economics and eventually turn profitable.
