DRIP CAPITAL, a trade financing start-up based in Mumbai and California, terminated approximately 20 per cent of its employees. As per a report by Inc42, the start-up did not mention the reason behind the layoffs, however, a number of roles were impacted in various departments.
During a town hall meeting in mid-November, Pushkar Mukewar, CEO, Drip Capital, revealed the company’s restructuring plan, which involved sending separate emails to impacted employees asking them to resign within a few hours.
Reportedly, over 75 employees were impacted by a restructuring exercise at DRIP CAPITAL, affecting various teams, mainly within the tech, engineering, and sales departments. Most of the employees laid off or impacted were from the company’s Indian teams. Some workers in the US and others from its Mexico office were also impacted.
Drip Capital was established in 2016 by Neil Kothari and Pushkar Mukewar, providing digital trade financing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses in India, the US, and Mexico. In October 2021, the company raised $175 million in funding, which included a $40 million Series C investment and $135 million in warehouse debt facilities. Investors in the fintech start-up include Accel, Irongrey, Sequoia, TI Platform, and Wing VC. The layoff occurred a year after this funding round.
The layoff decision by Drip Capital caused confusion among its staff, as the company had informed them in September 2022 that the business was doing well. Compensation was provided to those affected and severance pay equal to two months’ salary was given. The final payments were settled within 15 days.
