Chingari, Short Video Platform, Cuts Over 50% of Workforce Amid Strategic Shift
- ByStartupStory | August 25, 2023
Chingari, the short video platform, has reportedly undertaken a significant workforce reduction, letting go of over 50% of its employees. The layoff encompassed various departments including product, customer support, design, and marketing. While queries sent to Chingari regarding the matter have gone unanswered at present, the article will be updated when a response is received.
This comes after Chingari had already conducted a round of layoffs in June, affecting approximately 20% of its workforce. In an exclusive interview with sources,
Its CEO Sumit Ghosh said that the company made the harsh step to lay off employees at the time in a bid to extend its runway.
“When you are working with limited money do you have the luxury of burning the same amount of money or should you take a harsh step and let some people go now and then let them go in a dignified way? That’s what it came down to. We honestly, did the best we could and the layoffs at least helped us extend our runway by six months,” he said.
Notably, prior to these workforce reductions, Chingari’s Co-founder Aditya Kothari had departed from the company in May. The startup has undergone several transformations since its inception in 2018 as a WhatsApp status creation tool, later transitioning into a short video app in 2020. Despite its short video roots, Ghosh indicated that the company’s focus had shifted towards profitability rather than solely concentrating on the short video domain.
Chingari has garnered a total of at least $61.5 million in funding through seven funding rounds, with the most recent one taking place in February. Additionally, the company made moves beyond its core offering by acquiring a chess team and establishing a partnership with the UK-based football club Southall FC.
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