Yet another Indian startup in shakeup as jobs portal Hiree fires about 10% of workforce

After Zomato, TinyOwl and Housing, it is now time for Hiree to step back and rethink growth. As in most cases, that has resulted in layoffs.

The speed hiring job portal fired about 10-15 percent of its workforce on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told Tech In Asia.

Some of the Hiree team pictured in early 2015.

Manjunath Talwar, co-founder and chief executive, however, pegged the number at “less than 10 percent,” when Tech In Asia called, though he initially said the company had only let go of four employees due to “performance reasons.”

Hired (called MyNoticePeriod when we reported on its US$3 million funding in February last year) has a team of about 100 people.

Manjunath later changed stance. “Hiree is growing at a healthy pace. To optimize efficiencies and better streamline execution we reduced less than 10 percent of the staff,” he told Tech In Asia.

As India’s startup ecosystem matures, layoffs are going to be a part of the equation. Hiree is only the latest affirmation of that.

While it is true that as startups grow and build user base, they keep experimenting with automation and new age tech that makes some jobs redundant, phrases like “optimization of efficiencies” are typically code for “we are not growing as fast as we thought we would.”

Like Zomato, most of the pink slips at Hiree hit the sales team.

Industry experts say that is a sign that many startups, flush with initial rounds of funding, have been chasing growth numbers at a far more aggressive pace than practicable.