After Zomato, Swiggy to Lay Off 1,100 Employees as Coronavirus Hits Online Food Orders

Indian food delivery startup Swiggy said on Monday it would lay off 1,100 employees, or nearly 14% of its workforce, to cut costs, as a weeks-long nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak hits demand for online food ordering.

The company, backed by South African internet giant Naspers, also said it will scale down adjacent businesses and has already shut several of its cloud kitchens - facilities that only cater to takeaway orders - temporarily or permanently.

"The center food conveyance business has been seriously affected and will remain affected over the present moment, yet is relied upon to begin developing again after that," said Sriharsha Majety, fellow benefactor and CEO at Bengaluru-based



Swiggy. 

Swiggy, one of India's most popular new businesses, is among numerous that are laying off workers and reshaping their business in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has constrained 1.3 billion Indians inside and disabled business.

India is currently under a two-month lockdown, and though several curbs are being eased, public places such as restaurants remain closed, hurting restaurants themselves as well as companies such as Swiggy and main rival Zomato.

Zomato on Friday announced it was laying off more than 500 employees, or 13% of its total workforce.

Swiggy, which had about 8,000 employees on its payroll as of October last year, said it would provide three months of salary to all impacted workers.