Healthtech company Practo lays off 41 employees from engineering team 

By Ankita ChakravartiPopular healthcare app Practo, which helps people with booking online consultations with doctors, has fired close to 41 employees in a fresh round of layoffs. The company currently has more than 500 employees and its latest round of layoffs impacted the engineers primarily. The company has not cited cost cutting as the reason behind the layoffs. Practo has said in a statement that the layoffs have been conducted as part of the company’s continuous performance management and planning process, amidst the ongoing funding winter.

A Practo spokesperson said in a statement that maintaining a high bar for performance and productivity is crucial to sustaining the company’s growth. The spokesperson added that the layoffs were carried out in compliance with employment contracts.
“Therefore, as part of our continuous performance management and planning process, we had to part ways with 41 employees in accordance with their employment contracts,” a Practo spokesperson said.

The company clarified that the layoffs were not related to the business’s financial performance. According to Practo, its revenue, margins, and profits are at an all-time high. The company also mentioned that it had hired more than 500 talented individuals in the past year and plans to add another 500 employees, including backfills, in the next 12 months. “Our revenue, margins, and profits are at an all-time high,” the company spokesperson said.

Practo, which has raised over $228 million, received $32 million in funding led by Hong Kong-based AIA Group in August 2020. The healthtech platform is present in more than 20 countries and connects over 30 crore patients with more than one lakh verified doctor partners.
Practo’s layoff is yet another indication of the funding winter that has impacted the startup ecosystem. Investors have become increasingly cautious about investing in startups that have yet to establish profitability or a path to profitability. As a result, companies have been under pressure to maintain their financial performance and improve their finances.

Practo is used by 30 crore users currently. It helps patients connect with verified doctors and healthcare providers online. The platform offers a range of services, including online consultations, appointment booking, prescription management, and health records maintenance.