Amazon layoffs: Job cuts to outreach 18,000 roles, confirms CEO Andy Jassy

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January 5, 2023

Amazon confirmed that it is laying off more than 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously disclosed, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a public staff note on Wednesday.

He said that the company’s e-commerce and human resources organizations would be significantly impacted.

The layoffs, which reflect a swift turn for a company that recently doubled its base pay threshold to compete more aggressively for talent, affect 6% of Amazon’s approximately 300,000-person corporate workforce.

Andy Jassy said annual planning “has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years.”

After Walmart Inc., Amazon is the second-largest private employer in America, with more than 1.5 million employees, including warehouse staff. It has planned for likely reduced growth as rising inflation urged firms and consumers to cut back on spending, and its share price has decreased by half in the previous year.

Its layoffs now exceed those at Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, which slashed 11,000 jobs and those at competitors in the tech industry.

Indian startups take 5 years to scale from 0 to $100M in revenue: Redseer Strategy Consultants

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BRL Editor

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January 5, 2023

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According to a recent study by Redseer Strategy Consultants, the time it takes to reach the $100 million milestone has dramatically decreased as the ecosystem has matured over the past decade. According to the report, the time it took to reach $100 million in revenue in 2000 decreased from 18 to just 5 years.

There are 170 soonicorns and about 100 unicorns in India. Approximately 40 firms in the fintech, e-commerce and logistics sectors have generated more than $100 million in revenue as of FY22.

Venture capital has greatly aided startups’ ability to reach the $100 million revenue milestone. The startup ecosystem, valued at $804 billion, has seen investments from VCs totaling around $143 billion during the past 15 years (CY08 to CY22). According to the report, at present valuations, that equates to a roughly 4.5x return for venture capitalists on their investments.

The report also highlighted that there are 12,000 startups in India, ranging in size from Emerging ($10 million or less), Growth Stage ($10 million to $100 million), to Large ($100 million to >$1 billion). 95% are under the emerging category, 3-4% are in the growth stage, and fewer than 0.5% are large companies.

Scaling challenges are a common part of the growth journey for startups. The report found that while some firms need help with product-market fit and unsustainable expansion, others are part of niche industries that limit their overall addressable market.

MobiKwik to hire mid and senior talent amid push for growth

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BRL Editor

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January 4, 2023

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MobiKwik plans to expand its team by about 80-100 this year, spread across the engineering, marketing, finance, collections, and other teams.

Initially a payments firm, the company has expanded to offer investment, insurance, and credit products based on consumers’ buying behaviour. It aims to be a full-fledged digital bank for its 135 million customers and 4 million merchants.

“Last year, we grew our business by 80%, and we’ve had two very profitable quarters. We’re now looking for mature people to take responsibility for handling our growth, keeping risk in check, and scale across teams. We’re looking for someone senior to head the public policy team and are hiring branding talent, and of course, a majority of the hiring will be for the technology and engineering side,” Upasana Taku, cofounder of MobiKwik, said.

The business seeks mid-to-senior level personnel to help it grow its large businesses and more innovative new product lines. The hiring process will take place during the next six to eight months.

“For our newer product lines like insurtech, we’re looking for talent that has the capability to be agile and build things from scratch,” Taku said.

In terms of revenue, the company plans to reach Rs 1,000 crore this year.

As part of its DEI strategy, it is also working to increase the number of women hired, interviewed, and progressed to leadership roles.

MobiKwik was one of the businesses that put off its IPO plans last year. After the markets stabilize, the company will reevaluate its IPO plans, Taku added.

upGrad-owned Harappa lays off 30% of its workforce

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BRL Editor

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January 4, 2023

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Harappa Education, a New Delhi-based edtech startup that Ronnie Screwvala’s upGrad acquired last July for a value of Rs 300 crore ($38 million), is reported to have laid off nearly 60 people, or 30% of its 200-person workforce.

The content division has been hit hardest by the layoffs, which were first reported during the last week of December. Business Today reported that the affected employees have been told to serve one month’s notice and have not received any further severance benefits.

According to the report, this is only the first phase of layoffs, and there could be more.

In 2018, Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh co-founded Harappa, which now boasts 200 enterprise clients and more than 600,000 learners. The programs it offers emphasize intellectual, social, and behavioral skills.

To improve its soft-skill and leadership capabilities for working professionals, upGrad committed an additional Rs 320 crore (nearly $40 million) to the platform in September 2022 to establish the Harappa Global School of Leadership.

Dastawezz, legal and professional services from the comfort of their homes

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Amala Sree Murali

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January 4, 2023

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When hiring a lawyer for the first time, getting legal assistance can be stressful and complicated for entrepreneurs. A lawyer for a startup guides entrepreneurs through the early legal procedures needed to establish and expand their startup. This is where Dastawezz intends to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs at every stage of their company journey.

The significant impact of COVID-19 might be remote work. The founder of Dastawezz, Shivanjali Malik, was inspired by this circumstance to build an online platform that can provide services that address the legal requirements of startups and established businesses. Dastawezz’s mission is to allow individuals and businesses to conveniently access all of their legal and professional needs from the comfort of their homes at those times.

Highly reputed law firms only handle cases from well-known corporations. Due to the hefty costs associated with the company name, many small businesses or newly formed startups were forced to go empty-handed. Even though many startups would prefer to hire a legal advisor promptly, it’s simply not feasible financially. Startup lawyers won’t be a major priority because they will already be balancing hiring, product development, and overhead expenses.

As startups cannot afford to hire in-house legal counsel or a full-time law firm, they usually rely on readily available templates that are not customized to meet their unique business needs. This frequently leads to non-compliance with certain regulations, lack of proper licenses, legal disputes amongst co-founders, etc.

Even if startups hire specific lawyers to handle the difficulties and challenges, they would still need to find a CA (Chartered Accountant) to handle the taxation aspects and a CS (Company Secretary) to handle the startup’s legal structure. The key problem is that India’s startup sector remains incredibly young. Traditional lawyers are relatively new to this field, leaving them with a limited number of professionals to choose from.

Entrepreneurs might have a multibillion-dollar concept, but if they don’t have access to legal help or expert knowledge, it could result in significant expenses. However, getting stuck in paperwork, legal requirements, and the cost of hiring a lawyer is simple. Fortunately, businesses don’t require expensive legal counsel to begin their operations. However, they do need to set down legal pillars that properly secure everything they are striving to achieve. Dastawezz is a platform to help emerging firms create, customize, sign, and manage the key legal contracts and documents a startup requires.

The founder of Dastawezz, Shivanjali Malik, began working for start-ups, doing pro bono work for them such as preparing various legal documents and offering legal advice while in law school. This helped her better understand their work culture, expectations, and objectives. She was learning and assisting start-ups, making their journey easier.

After graduating from National Law University and working in Tier 1 law firms, she uncovered a necessity in the market for startups. In contrast, only 1% of the requirements of these companies were being met by the top-tier law firms, which expected a lack of investment.

Dastawezz is a legal tech start-up founded in 2020. The company has a network of lawyers, CAs, and CS, and teamwork in various domains for startups and individuals, including IPR, compliances, documentation, litigation, advising and structuring various business models for different countries, providing personalized services, and so on. This facilitates startups to focus on their products and services while they handle all the hassles.

Dastawezz has assisted over 150 startups across 6-7 countries, including the US, UK, India, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, and others, in the fields of cryptocurrencies, fintech, edtech, skincare brands, gaming startups, and entertainment. Dastawezz transforms their lives easier by assisting them with the legal aspects of launching and expanding their businesses.

Dastawezz believes in educating young founders on legal concerns that many are unfamiliar with and offering legal help. With this in mind, they raise awareness through free events and webinars on various platforms. They host discussion sessions, speak with entrepreneurs directly, and have educated more than 1000+ founders on various legal subjects to simplify their entrepreneurial journey.

Every entrepreneur wants their business in safe hands, especially regarding legal problems. The Dastawezz team of startup lawyers provides legal expertise and business expertise gained from working with many businesses. Startup lawyer with the capability and mindset to fully commit to the business from its establishment to the day it hits the milestone. Working with the same advisors from the beginning can help save time and money, and the trust built through time is incredible.

You can read more about Dastawezz on:

Website: https://dastawezz.com/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/dastawezz/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/dastawezz

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/dastawezz/

Safex Chemicals to invest Rs 100-Cr in its agritech arm

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BRL Editor

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January 3, 2023

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Agrochemicals maker Safex Chemicals Ltd announced plans to invest Rs 100 crore in AgCare Technologies, its new agritech arm, over the next three to four years to build an interactive tech platform and establish a manufacturing facility.

Speaking to PTI, the company’s Group Director, Piyush Jindal, said, “We are investing Rs 100 crore from our own kitty. We are not raising any funds. The investment is planned for the next 3-4 years.”

The objective is to introduce an interactive technology platform that will integrate the entire agri economy value chain. According to Jindal, key stakeholders, particularly farmers, can use this platform to acquire quality crop protection products and receive services like weather information, expert assistance, and mandi rates.

“A pilot study of this interactive tech platform will be conducted in January-March. We plan to go live in the next fiscal year,” Jindal said, adding that the platform will be expanded in a phased manner.

Jindal added that a new manufacturing facility would also be built to meet the need for new and existing products—such as cattle feed solutions—resulting from the proposed platform.

To set up the IT platform, Safex Chemicals will use its domain expertise. He added that the company has already made certain technological investments and plans to gradually expand the team.

With the recent acquisition of Briar Chemicals, a firm based in the UK, the company’s revenue is expected to increase from Rs 783 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 1,220–1,250 crore by the end of 2022–23 fiscal.

Safex Chemicals currently has six manufacturing facilities in India and one in the UK.

RateGain to buy travel data exchange company Adara

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BRL Editor

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January 3, 2023

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RateGain, a global provider of SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality industry, announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the data exchange platform Adara through an asset purchase agreement.

According to the official announcement, this acquisition would strengthen and reinforce RateGain’s position with commercial teams in hotel chains, airlines, and car rental firms, in addition to providing access to a specific market of more than 50+ destination marketing organisations in the US.

According to BSE filings, the deal’s amount is expected to be around Rs 134 crore.

“Adara’s key differentiator is its access to permissioned travel-intent data from the world’s top travel and hospitality players as well as destination marketing organisations, and relying less on traditional methods of tracking consumer intent,” said Bhanu Chopra, Chairman and Founder, RateGain.

Adara, which Charles Mi founded in San Francisco in2009, is now a partner in data collection and management for blue-chip companies in the travel and hospitality industries by offering predictive intelligence for the best consumer engagement.

To power digital marketing, programmatic advertising, campaign measurement, CRM, and retention, the company uses AI to combine the strength of global data consortiums with more than 24 billion data elements across 130 countries. The company also helps its customers build better connections to increase consumer engagement and profitability.

“Bhanu’s vision to build an end-to-end platform that can help organisations maximise revenue aligns with what Adara believes in, and the integration of RateGain and Adara will further this to create a unique value proposition that the industry needs as more and more travelers adopt digital channels to research, plan, and book travel,” said Charles Mi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Adara.

Together, Adara and RateGain will develop the most comprehensive travel platform, handling close to 30 billion data points, processing over 200 billion ARI updates, and collaborating with 700+ partners in over 100+ countries.

In more than 100 countries, RateGain works with 2,800+ customers and 700+ partners to increase revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion.

Following its late 2021 listing on stock exchanges, the company, which counts Nomura India Investment, Kuwait Investment Authority, Goldman Sachs Funds, Avataar Holdings, and TA Associates among its investors, raised nearly Rs 600 crore.

Germany reports record employment in 2022

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BRL Editor

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January 3, 2023

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According to provisional figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), a record 45.6 million persons were employed in Germany in 2022, an increase of 1.3% from the previous year.

In the largest economy in Europe, 34.3 million people were employed in the service industry alone. According to data cited by the Xinhua news agency, nearly all job growth occurred there in 2022, growing at a 1.6% annual rate.

Germany’s workforce expanded due to the immigration of foreign workers and the active participation of the domestic population. The labour market’s dampening effects of the demographic shift were “more than offset,” according to Destatis.

Germany has been experiencing a persistent lack of skilled workers, largely due to the demographic effects of an aging population. In mid-2022, the country’s economy was lacking more than half a million skilled workers on an annual average, according to the German Economic Institute (IW).

“When my generation, the boomer generation, retires, it really creates a problem,” Saskia Esken, party co-leader of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), said last week. “That’s why we have to increase immigration — and make sure that integration succeeds.”

According to a recent report by the Nuremberg-based Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the lack of skilled labour in Germany will reach seven million by 2035 without immigration and rising labour force participation rates.

In addition to a positive immigration balance and higher labor force participation rates, “it will also be important for the birth rate to rise in the coming years to stabilize the labor force potential in the long term beyond 2035,” the IAB said.

The German government decided to lower the income requirements for the Blue Card, which is necessary for work migration, to bring in more international workers. Additionally, an “opportunity card” for those with high potential will be introduced, and the asylum procedures will be streamlined.

ShareChat’s revenue increase 4.3 times for FY22

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BRL Editor

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January 2, 2023

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According to regulatory filings, Mohalla Tech, the parent company of the short video entertainment app Moj and the vernacular social media platform ShareChat, reported a 4.3X increase in operating revenue to Rs 347 crore during the last fiscal year compared to Rs 80.4 crore in FY21.

Entrackr reported that it experienced yearly losses of Rs 2,988 crore in FY22 compared to Rs 1,324 crore in FY21. During the last fiscal year, its cash outflows from operations increased 2.5X to Rs 2,676 crore.

Its platform-based advertisement revenue increased by 2.8X to Rs 212.2 crore in FY22 from Rs 77 crore in FY21. In-app purchases for its chatrooms, known as “ShareChat Coin,” increased 35X to Rs 120.5 crore in the last fiscal year from only Rs 3.44 crore in FY21.

Jeet11, a skill-based game for real money, reported that its gaming platform generated Rs 14.24 crore in revenue in FY22. Mohalla Tech shut down Jeet11 in December last year, and 5% of its employees were laid off.

Its largest cost component, business development expenses, increased by 72.5% to Rs 1,143 crore in FY22 from Rs 662.6 crore in FY21. During the fiscal year, employee benefits expenses surged 2.8X to Rs 505 crore. Employee share-based payments totaling Rs. 73.83 crores were included in this expense (a non-cash expense).

In FY22, the cost of content development and legal expenses increased by 8.6 and 6.1 times, respectively, to Rs 422 crore and Rs 70 crore. Additionally, ShareChat spent Rs 78.67 crore on platform service fees, communications, distributor support, analytics, and other associated expenses. Finally, compared to FY21, its overall cost increased 2.4X to Rs 3,407 crores from Rs 1,420 crore. At the end of FY22, its outstanding losses increased by more than 80% to Rs 2,583 crore.

Indian auto industry achieves highest ever annual sales in 2022

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BRL Editor

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January 2, 2023

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The sale of domestic passenger vehicles in India reached an all-time high last year. In 2022, the country sold 3.793 million, or 37.93 lakh units, a 23.1% increase over the previous year. The largest increase in annual sales was reported by major four-wheeler companies Tata Motors (58.2%), Kia India (40.2%), and Toyota Kirloskar Motor (22.6%).

However, the fastest-growing of the top companies was Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, with a growth of 123.3%. Maruti Suzuki maintained its dominance of the Indian auto industry in 2022, selling 15.8 lakh vehicles there compared to the 13.68 lakhs it sold in 2021, a 15.4% increase year over year.

The Indian auto industry sold over 2.28 lakh vehicles in December 2022 alone, a 3.6% increase from the 2.20 lakh units sold in the same month in 2021. The rise in sales figures reveals the rising demand for automobiles in India and the slightly better semiconductor chip situation.

In 2022, the country witnessed the introduction of many high-selling new cars, including some significant debuts like the Mahindra Scorpio-N, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder, Toyota Innova Hycross, and so on. This year will likely introduce more new and exciting cars due to the upcoming Auto Expo 2023.

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