Snapdeal to hire 500 more as other tech startups hand over pink slips to employees

Amid layoffs by several new-generation tech startups, Snapdeal is looking to hire 500 people at mid-and senior-levels to bolster various functions of the company such as supply chain, technology, design among others.

“These positions will be based across our Gurgaon and Bangalore campuses. We are looking at people with experience in FMCG, technology and telecom sectors," said Saurabh Nigam, VP, human resources, at Snapdeal.

The hiring announcement comes even as the Gurgaon-based online marketplace has hired around 2,000 people over the last seven months, taking the total headcount to 7,000.

"We have put strong science behind our manpower planning. We are conscious about growth in our teams. What's happening in the startup space is unfortunate. You end up with over-hiring without putting any logic in place due to the exuberance of initial investments. Then all of a sudden, you see your fixed costs going up and things go out of control," said Nigam.

In September this year, Snapdeal said it would spend around Rs 660 crore to enhance its supply chain. "These are all part of targeted hiring. People from the FMCG sector has expertise in handling large and complex supply chains. We have usually seen that they perform extremely well in tech companies such as ours," said Nigam.


Nigam said in the near future e-commerce companies will witness demand for people from sectors such as category management and marketing and brand building. "To expand, we would need marketing executives who can build our brand with sellers," said Nigam.

Notably, several startups including TinyOwl, Jabong, Housing and Zomato, have started handing over pink slips to their employees. After restaurant discovery startup Zomato laid off 300 people, Mumbai-based food start-up TinyOwl has fired around 300 employees in less than two months.