Startup Layoffs continue, though for a different reason this time. LocalOye, the online home service providing platform is now laying off over 60 employees, most of them belonging to its call servicing units, as the company automates more processes, reports LiveMint.
This lay-off comes as a part of company’s broader restructuring plan. The company is building an automated platform that will require fewer manual interventions to service its clients.
The company has fired 60 employees from its total 200 employees after it started automating more processes in the call centres that services and acquires merchants. As per the company, it has paid up severance fees to the employees who are fired, but it has not provided any details.
LocalOye was founded in 2014 by Aditya Rao. Earlier, in April, the company had raised $5 million from Tiger Global Management and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Prior to that, it raised an undisclosed amount from Sidharth Rao, Haresh Chawla, and Sachin Bhatia.
It was first started as a venue-booking service for parties and weddings but later pivoted into providing complete local services by turning into a marketplace model. Now, the company offers a platform to connect consumers to services providers of around 90 categories, including plumbers, electricians and beauticians, etc.
LocalOye recently expanded to North India with an expansion in Gurgaon.
The LocalOye app uses an advanced recommendation engine to connect customers with high-quality service professionals within few minutes. Once the requirements have been posted, the vendors are notified and the user details like budget, location, timing etc are sent to them. After a service provider accepts the lead, LocalOye connects both the vendor and customer.
Laying off has recently become a more frequent phenomena in the Indian startup ecosystem. Last month, Zomato laid off 10% of its staff by firing around 300 employees. In the same month, HelpChat, an instant messaging based personal assistance app laid off around 150 employees, one-third of its workforce due to lack of funds.
Earlier this month, food-tech startup TinyOwl laid off 112 employees from the company as a part of its cost cutting measures. Before that, the company had fired 200 employees from its sales and delivery teams.
Then Recently, it was reported that the ever newsmaker Housing, will lay off around 200 employees in order to meet its cost cutting targets. Prior to that, the company closed four of its seven business units and laid off 160 employees.
