GoBrands, Inc., operating under the Gopuff brand, is a US-based consumer goods and food delivery company. Since 2022, GoPuff has reduced its workforce by more than a thousand people through various rounds of layoffs. It has also reduced its infrastructure during the last few years. It closed warehouses and focused on its business. GoPuff Layoffs 2024? – Is GoPuff still in business?
GoPuff recently stated that it would be firing 6% of its employees. This move, according to the rapid-delivery firm, will position it for “the next leg of growth.” Also, it will help to meet its objective of being free cash flow positive and profitable by the end of 2024.
GoPuff employs a little under 10,000 employees. According to the Philadelphia-based business, the job layoffs will affect a few hundred employees in its US corporate workforce. GoPuff said it would offer severance compensation and ensure that departing employees receive shares in the company.
GoPuff, a quick delivery startup, will lay off approximately 2% of its global workforce in 2023. The company’s first signs of challenges came in 2022, when it sacked 3% of its employees, or approximately 450 individuals, as part of an internal “realignment in April 2022.” Again, Gopuff confirmed in October 2022 that it had laid off 250 customer service staff as part of the July layoffs.
Businesses operating in many different areas of the restaurant technology industry remained in H1, facing an unstable economic environment. A few favored companies reduced workers in the first half of 2023 to control losses and right their ships.
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About Gopuff
GoBrands, Inc. is an American consumer product and food delivery firm based in Philadelphia. As of October 2021, the company operates in over 650 US communities with around 500 micro-fulfillment sites. It also operates in the United Kingdom, following the acquisition of Newcastle-based Fancy. As of July 2021, the company was worth $15 billion.
GoPuff is the pioneer of instant delivery. It is the sole speedy-delivery startup standing in the United States after its best-funded competitor, Getir, announced its exit recently. That has put Gopuff in the same position it was in ten years and billions of dollars ago.
GoPuff’s financial situation still needs to be more favorable. A former executive said GoPuff spent approximately $400 million in 2023 despite decreased promotions and discounts. Another person connected to the company said that Gopuff hopes to start generating cash by early next year. This will most certainly require more cuts.
GoPuff Layoffs
Gopuff’s first signs of problems were in April 2022, when the business fired 3% of its workforce or about 450 individuals. As its co-founders stated at the time, this was part of an internal “realignment” aimed at boosting the company’s financial performance.
Three months later, Gopuff reduced its workforce by 10%. The business also closed dozens of dark storefronts as it struggled to survive in a competitive market. In October 2022, Gopuff revealed that it had laid off 250 customer service staff during the July layoffs.
According to Bloomberg, Gopuff had over 10,000 workers as of September 2022. In a statement to investors in July, Gopuff co-founders and co-CEOs Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola declared as follows:
“Immediate needs” sector had reached an “inflection point.” Gopuff’s layoffs were part of an effort to ” boost operational efficiencies.” It was because the business braced for an economic downturn and focused on profitability.
In this situation, GoPuff, an instant delivery business, announced another wave of layoffs in March 2023. This time, around 2% of its global staff was laid off. This is GoPuff’s third round of layoffs.
The third round of Gopuff Layoffs
During the COVID-19 epidemic, companies like Gopuff gained popularity. The business attracted a number of competitors ready to run at a loss to gain market share, as well as venture capital funds to help them expand. Growth and funding slowed as lockdowns were lifted. Also, customers returned to stores and restaurants, causing businesses to reduce staff and cut expenses.
Gopuff’s first signs of difficulty appeared in April 2022. It was the time when the firm laid off 3% of its workforce or about 450 employees. This was done as part of an internal “realignment.” According to its co-founders, this layoff is aimed at increasing the company’s financial performance.
Three months later, Gopuff announced that it would lay off 10% of its employees and close dozens of dark stores. It was because the company struggled to survive in a competitive market. In July 2022, Gopuff declared the closure and layoffs of 76 warehouses in the United States. It affected around 1500 employees.
In October 2022, Gopuff revealed that it had laid off 250 customer service staff as part of the July layoffs. GoPuff had roughly 10,000 employees in total as of September 2022.
Gopuff’s spokesman stated that this 2% reduction was not a cost-cutting measure. He said it was part of an annual performance review process. In that process, top performers are rewarded, and low performers are laid off. This is in contrast to Gopuff’s previous layoffs. In that, it stressed the cash-saving state rapid delivery companies must bear as their capital funding decreases.
The spokesman also stated that GoPuff had merged a few business units under new leadership. This merger happened in its technology and human resources departments.
Rapid delivery skyrocketed a few years ago. It was because business owners and merchants tried to expand their online businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. After that, consumers and businesses returned to pre-pandemic habits. So, some of these delivery firms have reduced or ceased operations due to weak demand and inflation.
Gopuff’s Layoff 2024
After almost five years, Gopuff finally got a logo on its Spring Garden Street headquarters in Philadelphia. It was a bad time for the employees because the company was once again laying off its employees.
GoPuff will lay off 6% of its global workforce because it seeks to be profitable by the end of 2024, according to a spokesperson. Thus, roughly 600 people will be affected by this layoff. It needs to be clarified how many laid-off employees are in Philadelphia. The business will pay severance compensation, noting that there will be no impact on client service.
According to a spokesperson, this latest move is an attempt to put the company on track to be profitable within two years. The layoffs will prepare Gopuff for its “next leg of growth,” the business stated in May 2024. They come in the wake of other recent employee layoffs.
As stated earlier, in March 2023, Gopuff laid off 2% of its employees. Last year’s performance may have been less than expected. According to people familiar with the company’s finances, it spent $400 million in 2023.
Gopuff’s problems began two years ago when it went through three rounds of layoffs in the space of around six months. The $15 billion firm delayed its IPO plans when its pandemic-era hypergrowth came to an end, and it was time to restructure.
Gopuff’s turbulent journey
Recently, there have been rounds of layoffs at many software companies funded by venture capital. This could be due to shifts in the market that forced growth-mode companies to tighten their total budgets. Otherwise, raising interest rates makes financing more expensive.
GoPuff was the first household-name tech unicorn in the region. This business was the tale of college students who stayed on after graduation to create a tech-enabled business that the general public knew and used. This was a far cry from the enterprise software and life sciences that are more common in this area.
However, the company had an unusually hard rise. It is balancing a capital-intensive logistics industry with a demanding tech workplace culture.
GoPuff was once supposed to be on pace for the public market. But its financial discipline, neighbor links, and tech community engagement have all been challenged.
Conclusion
To meet its financial goals this year, Gopuff will concentrate on more ad opportunities, premium membership subscriptions, and its private label, the company stated. Over the last year, GoPuff has increased same-store sales by 22%. Its monthly average revenue per user is more than 20%, according to the business.
Gopuff’s personnel reduction came after two prior layoffs. However, the company stated that the March 2023 cuts were not cost-cutting but the result of yearly performance review appraisals.
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