Game streaming start-up Loco lays off 36% of its employees

Gaming company Loco has laid off 40 of its 110 employees, after a "strategic review" of operations, the company's founder said on Thursday.

Loco Founder Anirudh Pandita said no sector can remain unaffected by global turbulence, and assured support to the laid-off employees.

The 40 laid-off employees comprised 36% of the company's total workforce of 110.

"To give some context, we did a strategic review for the previous quarter pertaining to transactions on the platform and the percentage of paid users, which is higher on a global average... but advertising was lacking," Pandita told PTI.

"Given where we are (in terms of) financial cycles and the global market, it is very important to be cost efficient as well," Pandita told PTI.

Pandita refuted investor pressure or performance as factors for the layoffs.

"Based on a company review last week, we decided... to let go of roles. This had nothing to do with performance. On the product side, engagement-based services and advertising guys were impacted," he said.

Pandita said that after a recent strategic review, they have decided to focus on transaction-based monetisation and operate with a leaner cost structure.

“We’ve decided to lean into the early success we have seen with transaction-based monetisation on the platform, where we hit over 100k paying users in under 60 days and are seeing a high % of MAUs turn into paying users on the platform. This new focus also necessitates that we work with a leaner operating structure and therefore, we had to part ways with some of our team members yesterday. This is a decision that has been taken to ensure the long-term health of our company, but it is also a decision that has been made with a very heavy heart,” said Pandita.

The company cut marketing costs last year, and said tech and employee cost structure is now "being made efficient." "We will make sure the people affected land on their feet, we are providing financial support (severance) as well as insurance and emotional support," Pandita said.

The company had in November launched a paid VIP loyalty programme and elaborated its plans on international expansion

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