Two Bengaluru-based startup founders on Wednesday announced a workforce reduction within their company due to a strategic shift from rapid expansion to sustainability. However, Sambhav Jain and Kush Taneja, the co-founders of the fintech app Fam, offered assistance to the 18 impacted employees in finding alternative employment opportunities.
Taking to microblogging site X (formerly known as Twitter), Mr Jain acknowledged the difficulty of letting people go, particularly in a people-first organization like Fam, where emotional connections are strong. He said that despite being proud of the "super passionate" team they have built, the company's altered direction prevented them from offering roles that could support personal growth.
Further, Mr Jain stated that the company empathizes with the laid-off employees and is confident in their abilities to achieve great things elsewhere. "We have all the compassion for them and are confident that these people will build amazing things wherever they go, and wish everyone the best in life," he wrote.
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Mr Jain post also included an appeal for hiring opportunities in EPD (Engineering and Product Development) and growth functions, inviting interested parties to connect for relevant profiles.
Kush Taneja also addressed the situation on X. He expressed gratitude for the contributors of the departing employees and offered them as potential assets to other teams. "Today was an extremely sad day for us as 18 of our FamStars had to leave. We are forever grateful to their contributions in building the Fam! Please DM if you are looking for super passionate and extraordinary folks for your team," Mr Taneja tweeted.
Since being shared, the co-founders' appeal has gone viral on social media. However, it received mixed responses online. While some social media users questioned the company's claim of being "people-first" when resorting to layoffs, others responded more positively.
"As a business, people are hired and fired but don't call yourself 'people-first' or 'family' if the first thing you do when funding shrinks is firing people...Family doesn't throw out its members when ration is less," wrote one user. "Is it fair to expect passion from your team when they can get laid off for no fault of theirs? And then build the same passion for their next role? Commenting on the overuse of "passion" in corporate speak," said another.
A third user, however, expressed his intent to hire. "I am sure Fampay will come out stronger. We are hiring. Not able to DM you - apparently only blue tick users can DM you. Can we connect?" they said. "Send me details Kush, i will work something out for the champs," commented another.
