ShareChat cuts 5% jobs as part of performance review cycle

Vernacular social media platform ShareChat is reportedly laying off about 5% of its workforce, marking its second round of layoffs in the past six months.

In August 2024, ShareChat let go of 5% of its workforce as part of its mid-year performance cycle. In 2023, the firm implemented several cost-cutting measures and sacked 700 employees across two phases.

According to Moneycontrol, which first reported the news, ShareChat currently employs between 530 and 550 people, and around 5% will be let go as part of an annual review process set to conclude later this month.

"The company is not undertaking any layoffs. We are in the middle of our annual appraisal cycle and as a part of our bar raising process, we replace bottom performers every cycle. Less than 5% of our headcount is impacted by this. Most of these positions will be subsequently filled with replacements. The company is not undertaking a cost-cutting exercise at this point," said Manohar Singh Charan, Chief Financial Officer, ShareChat & Moj.

"Our App ShareChat is already fully profitable for the last three months and we are on the threshold of becoming profitable at the overall level as well. The company is actively hiring for selective key roles. We just onboarded a new CTO, hired a head of acquisition marketing and are evaluating candidates for several positions in tech," added Charan.

In 2024, the Ankush Sachdeva-led firm raised $65 million in debt across two tranches. ShareChat has raised around $1.3 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others.

In the last fiscal year, ShareChat's operational revenue increased by 29.9% to Rs 718.1 crore from Rs 552.73 crore in FY23. With a reduction in expenses and moderate growth in scale, the company's losses decreased by 41.4% to Rs 1,898.94 crore in FY24.

In 2024, the number of layoffs dropped significantly to 4,700 employees, a sharp decrease from the 24,000 layoffs in 2023 and 20,000 in 2022. With funding recovery underway, layoffs are expected to decrease further in the current calendar year.