Instacart fires staff before IPO

American grocery delivery company Instacart wants to cut all sorts of costs before its planned IPO. The company has quietly made a part of its staff redundant and asks the remaining employees to reduce spendings.

Fire, not hire

Instacart, an American service that lets its couriers shop in physical stores and deliver those groceries to its customers, is making major cost cuts in preparation for its IPO. Last May, the company had applied to float on the stock exchange, shortly after lowering its own valuation to 24 billion dollars. The startup suffers from market turbulence and growing competition.

In the last few months, the company has sacked some of its staff on a one-by-one basis, avoiding public redundancies, The Information reports. At least three senior level employees are said to have lost their jobs in this way, while for a number of positions a ban on hiring new employees would be in place. The remaining staff would also have been told to limit spendings on items like travelling and team meetings.

Many tech and e-commerce companies, both in the United States and elsewhere, are finding it increasingly difficult to convince investors in the current barren financial climate. For its IPO, Instacart will have to show that it can be profitable, even in difficult circumstances.