Spinny, the Used Car Startup, Trims Workforce by Approximately 300 Employees

• ByStartupStory     |    August 3, 2023

Spinny, a used car retailing platform supported by Tiger Global, has executed a cost-cutting initiative that resulted in the dismissal of approximately 300 employees. These layoffs, accounting for about 5 percent of the company’s workforce, were influenced by the merging of divisions Truebil and Spinny Max into the main Spinny brand. The decision was announced by co-founder and CEO Niraj Singh during an August 2 town hall meeting. This move comes amid a slowdown in the demand for used cars across the industry following a period of significant growth during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the integration of Truebil and Spinny Max under the primary Spinny brand progresses, the company conveyed to its employees that job redundancies would occur. The merger was driven by a desire to enhance the go-to-market business model, cut costs, and improve the company’s margin profile, ultimately expediting the path to profitability.

Spinny, which operates over 55 car hubs and serves more than 22 cities, faces competition from SoftBank-backed Cars24. Like Spinny, Cars24 also undertook a workforce reduction, letting go of around 600 employees, or approximately 7 percent of its workforce, in May 2022.

Given the drying up of funding for Indian startups, many have resorted to cost-cutting measures, resulting in over 25,000 job terminations since early 2022. Additionally, consolidation is taking place within the used-car sector, as seen with CarTrade Tech’s acquisition of the operations of OLX Autos, a direct competitor to Spinny.

Spinny remains optimistic about its future prospects. Despite the challenges, the company continues to operate with enthusiasm. Its CEO, Niraj Singh, highlighted that the average selling price of cars in Bengaluru is the highest compared to the rest of the country, which demonstrates the potential of the used car market.

Founded in 2015, Spinny has secured approximately $530 million in funding thus far, including a $283 million round in November 2021, which elevated its status to India’s fourth online car retailer unicorn after Cars24, CarDekho, and Droom. With a valuation of around $1.6 billion, Spinny boasts support from prominent investors such as Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, General Catalyst, Blume Ventures, and Accel.

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