Dunzo defers salary payments to September

livemint.com:

₹75,000 for those earning more. On Tuesday, Dunzo wrote to its employees that it will pay the July and August salaries, as well as the unpaid portion for the higher earners, by 4 September. Earlier, the company had decided to pay out the unpaid portion by 15 July, and there was no plan to defer salaries for others.

“At this stage, we need to focus on streamlining our cash flow so we can build a more sustainable business for the future," Dunzo’s payroll team emailed employees. Mint has reviewed a copy of the email. Around 500 employees constituting 40-45% of its workforce were said to be affected by the move to cap salaries at ₹75,000.

Dunzo had fired around 30% of its staff in April. “Pending salaries for June will now be paid on 4 September, 2023. Additionally, the July salary for all team members will be paid only on 4 September along with the August salary.

While we have set 4 September as the date for all pending salary payouts, we are working to resolve this issue at the earliest to minimize the impact on our team members," the letter said. A company spokesperson did not respond to queries. Dunzo had raised $75 million in debt funding through convertible notes in April.

Apart from Google and Reliance, it counts investors such as Lightbox, Evolvence, Alteria Capital among its investors. A person aware of the company’s plans said that Dunzo is in the process of raising around $50 million from new investors. Many high-growth startups with rapid cash burn are nearing the end of the runway, as they find it hard to raise funding.