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Glenn Kaonang · · 2 min readLast-mile delivery startup Blitz Electric trims workforce
With additional reporting from Putra Muskita.
Blitz Electric, a last-mile delivery startup based in Indonesia, cut jobs last week, affecting key personnel across operations and tech teams, sources tell Tech in Asia.
A Blitz spokesperson told Tech in Asia that approximately 20% of the workforce was axed but did not specify a number. The startup’s LinkedIn page lists 62 employees.
Saivya Chauhan (left) and Blitz team with Nvidia boss Jensen Huang (center) / Photo credit: Blitz Electric
The layoffs are a part of a “shift toward disciplined, sustainable growth” as Blitz strives to improve profitability, the spokesperson added.
According to several retrenched staff, they had received just half of a month’s pay in severance. They were also unable to cash out their unused leave.
But the Blitz spokesperson disputes this, pointing out that the company pays severance based on manpower regulations. “Each case is unique, and the amount varies from person to person,” they added.
Founded in 2019 by former Hyperloop engineer Saivya Chauhan, Blitz uses electric vehicles to provide last-mile delivery services. The company buys e-motorcycles from manufacturers such as Charged, Electrum, and iMoto, then leases them to drivers under a rent-to-own scheme.
Popular F&B brands like Domino’s Pizza and Janji Jiwa are among Blitz’s clients. Similar to its competitor Dash Electric, Blitz operates a white-label service, which allows clients to rebrand the company’s e-motorcycles to fit their brand identities.
Blitz raised an undisclosed bridge round from Iterative in February 2024, according to Tech in Asia’s database. Forbes, which included Blitz CEO Chauhan in its latest 30 Under 30 rankings, reported that the company had raised US$4 million in March through a pre-series A round led by Vynn Capital.
See also: Are SEA’s deliveries about to get greener? These logistics startups think so
In an interview with Tech in Asia last year, Chauhan said Blitz was set to become net profitable by the end of 2024. It’s unclear, however, whether the company has achieved that goal.
Chauhan said in a LinkedIn post today that Blitz’s revenue has “more than tripled” while burn rates decreased month over month. But he also stated that the company has been consolidating roles and streamlining organizational layers as it matures.
“Scaling away from zero to one and towards one to 100 isn’t just about growth. It’s about discipline,” the CEO wrote.
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The EV-powered Indonesian delivery startup says the layoffs are part of a long-term play for sustainable growth. Here’s what we know so far.
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