Reliance, Google backed Dunzo delays 50% salary this month, employee says, ‘rumours of restructuring…’

Dunzo, a hyperlocal quick commerce company backed by Reliance Retail and Google, has reportedly deferred 50% of salaries for employees in manager-level positions and above, according to sources.

“All employees manager grade and above have only received 50 per cent of the salary of June. Rest company says they will pay it later,” the source told Business Today.

Another employee confirmed, “We were informed that we would get the rest of the salary between July 15th to 25th. There are rumours of restructuring amid a cash crunch.”

In April of this year, the quick commerce company, after securing a substantial $75 million funding round from investors including Reliance Retail and Google, made the difficult decision to lay off 30 percent of its workforce. This move came in the wake of the funding announcement and was accompanied by a company-wide town hall meeting where the management discussed a pivot in the business model. As part of this strategic shift, the company also decided to close down 50 percent of its dark stores spread across the country.

Financial records from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings for the fiscal year 2021-22 revealed the company's challenging financial situation. Despite reporting a total revenue of ₹67.7 crores, the expenses incurred by the company amounted to a staggering ₹531.7 crores. The operating revenue showed an improvement, reaching ₹54.3 crores, up from ₹25.1 crores in the previous fiscal year. However, the company experienced a consolidated loss of ₹464 crores, which was twice the loss incurred in the previous year.

The largest expense for the company was employee benefits, amounting to ₹138 crores. This was followed by significant advertising and promotional expenses, which soared to ₹64.4 crores compared to the previous year's ₹11 crores.