Dunzo further defers payment of June salaries, shifts deadline to late August or early September

Grocery delivery platform Dunzo has further deferred salary of its employees due from the month of June, until either late August or the first week of September, CNBC-TV18 had learnt from the sources.

"The pending salaries for June will now be paid on September 4, 2023. Additionally, the July salary for all team members will be paid only on September 4th along with the August salary." according an email Dunzo sent to its employees today.

The earlier deadline set for the deferred payment which was less than 50 percent, had been July 20. Dunzo had had deferred paying June salaries to employees earning Rs 75,000 per month, irrespective of what their pay package was.

Sources told CNBC-TV18, “Dunzo is looking at its business to see what's working for them or not, there are some projects they are working on which they need to focus on and that's the reason why the salaries are being deferred.” The company however denied to comment on the notable delay.

The development comes after the quick commerce platform cut its workforce by 30 percent, meaning close to 300 employees were laid off in April in its second round of job cuts. Dunzo had also secured funding worth $75 million and both moves were targeted at the delivery platform turning profitable before its initial public offering (IPO) in 2025.

According to a report by the Economic Times, Dunzo is seeking to raise $20 million more from Reliance Retail.

Dunzo has so far raised close to $500 million since 2015 from Reliance, Google, Lightrock, Lightbox, Blume Ventures and several others. Reliance is the largest shareholder with a 25.8 percent stake in the company, and Google was the second-largest with around 19 percent ownership in Dunzo, according to Tracxn.

Bengaluru-headquartered Dunzo reported a net loss of Rs 464 crore in FY22. This showcase a twofold spike from reporting a net loss of Rs 229.1 crore in FY21. According to company’s annual financial reports the rise in operational cost led to the spike in loss. Dunzo lost Rs 230 on each Dunzo Daily order during the first half of 2022 that is from January to June. EBITDA loss in June was Rs 176 crore. The company is yet to disclose its financials for FY23.