PHILADELPHIA — Ultra-fast delivery startup Gopuff is laying off 10% of its workforce worldwide and closing 76 warehouses, according to Bloomberg.
The move will affect more than 1,500 workers and marks the second time in four months that Gopuff has laid off staff, the report said. In March, the company cut about 3% of its staff and held off on plans to go public. The shuttered warehouses represent about 12% of the company’s network.
The delivery startup acquired alcohol beverage retailer BevMo in late 2020. The company was then valued at nearly $9 billion as of March 2021 after it received $1.15 billion in funding. The company continued to grow last year, reaching a valuation of $15 billion last July, the report said. By then, Gopuff generated just under $2 billion in revenue in 2021 with order volume jumping 70% compared with 2020, said Bloomberg.
“Through reduced spending, a culling of lower-performing warehouses and a focus on higher-margin revenue streams like advertising, Gopuff is aiming to be profitable by 2024,” Bloomberg reported. Each new warehouse location cost Gopuff about $250,000 and the company launched about half of its 600 warehouses last year, the news agency said.
“These shifts are not only accelerating our timeline to profitability, they are taking us back to our roots of keeping profitability at the core of every decision,” Gopuff co-CEOs Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev wrote in the investor letter, Bloomberg said.
Founded in 2013 by co-founders Ilishayev and Gola, Philadelphia-based Gopuff is a platform for “instant” delivery of consumers’ everyday needs, including an assortment of products including cleaning and home products, over-the-counter medications, baby and pet products, food and drinks and local brands, as well as alcohol and fresh prepared food in some markets, Gopuff serves customers in more than 1,000 cities for a flat $1.95 delivery fee, it said.
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