Major Restructuring at Healthify Leads to 27% Workforce Reduction Amid Economic Challenges

• ByStartupStory     |    April 29, 2024

Healthify, a prominent Indian health tech startup, has announced a layoff of approximately 27 percent of its workforce, translating to around 150 employees. This action is part of a broader restructuring strategy aimed at achieving profitability within its domestic market and facilitating global expansion.

The layoffs occurred earlier this week, primarily affecting the sales and product teams. Tushar Vashist, co-founder and CEO of Healthify, expressed his views on the difficult decision. “Our India business is on track to become EBITDA profitable in the next 3-4 months,” he stated. “This restructuring was an unfortunate but necessary step toward reaching our financial goals while also allocating resources for our international growth plans.”

Healthify is extending substantial support to the impacted employees, including two months’ salary as severance, extended health insurance, accelerated stock vesting in certain cases, and assistance with job placement.

This move follows a previous round of layoffs in 2021 when Healthify reduced its workforce by another 150 employees across various departments, such as SME, quality analytics, product, and marketing. Founded in 2012, the company leverages artificial intelligence to provide personalized diet, fitness, and weight management coaching through its app.

The broader landscape for Indian startups has been equally challenging. According to data from Layoffs.fyi, over 15,000 positions were eliminated across approximately 100 startups in 2023 due to a continued “funding winter.” The sectors most affected include edtech, consumer services, and ecommerce, with significant layoffs reported by major players such as Byju’s, which recently dismissed 2,500 employees.

Notable companies like Ola, Captain Fresh, ShareChat, Swiggy, and MediBuddy have also executed major layoffs this year. Globally, over 1,160 tech companies have reduced their workforce significantly, with more than 260,000 tech jobs cut this year alone.

The funding slump has hit Indian startups particularly hard, with a sharp 65.8% decrease in funding from January to November 2023. This financial crunch has compelled many startups to slash marketing budgets, adjust cost structures, and decrease staffing levels to maintain operations during economic downturns.

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