Westbridge-backed Third Wave Coffee lays off ~120 employees following $35M funding
Third Wave Coffee’s restructuring move comes just three months after it raised $35 million in funding from Creaegis, and existing investors Westbridge Capital and Udaan’s Sujeet Kumar.
Speciality coffee chain has let go of nearly 120 employees as it undergoes restructuring months after raising funds, two people familiar with the development told YourStory.
Mid- and senior-level employees across business development, design, sales, marketing, supply chain management, and strategy teams have been impacted, they added. “Only two to three key personnel are being retained across most teams,” said one of the persons quoted above.
The head of human resources (HR) informed the affected employees over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, and the process is likely to extend till Friday, the person added. “There is a lot of confusion and anger because nobody knows what the restructuring means. There is no clarity on severance pay either,” they added.
Third Wave Coffee (TWC) confirmed the development to YourStory.
“TWC post a strategic review has decided on a one-time restructuring exercise to consolidate our teams, impacting less than 10% of the organisation,” it said in a statement.
Moneycontrol was the first to report the development.
In September, the coffee chain secured $35 million in Series C funding from Creaegis and existing investors Westbridge Capital and Udaan Co-founder Sujeet Kumar. The startup said it aims to use the capital for country-wide expansion, bolstering its supply chain, enhancing capabilities, and investments in technology.
“Undertaking layoffs shortly after a strong fundraise seems unusual. But, several close-door conversations have been happening over the last month or so,” said the first person in the know.
However, Third Wave Coffee maintains that it continues to be in a strong position. “As an organisation, we are in a strong position post the recent fundraise. We will continue to scale and build TWC as India’s most loved coffee brand,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
TWC joins the likes of DealShare, Bizongo, Chargebee, Cuemath, and Mobile Premier League to trim the workforce, maintain a leaner organisation, and keep costs in control as the macroeconomic environment remains tricky.
Edited by Kanishk Singh