SaaS unicorn Chargebee lays off 10% staff, nearly 140 employees impacted

SaaS unicorn Chargebee has let go of nearly 10% of its workforce, citing “external market forces” and “operational debt.”

Around 140 employees were impacted by the move, Chargebee told Entrackr in a statement.

“While we are positioned well for the future in the long term given our market opportunity and financial position, we are in the unfortunate situation where we have to make corrections to our scale and structure to build a more efficient, stronger organization for the future,” co-founder Krish Subramanian said in a LinkedIn post on late Wednesday.

Subramanian further explained that “macroeconomic factors” began affecting public companies and the financial environment at the beginning of the second quarter. It led to the startup changing its hiring plans and enforcing what it calls a “stricter fiscal discipline.”

The affected employees will get three months of pay as they search for newer opportunities, three months of extended medical benefits, and outplacement career services to help them find new roles. These employees will also get an extension of time to exercise stock options granted under the stock incentive plan.

Founded in 2011, Chargebee provides subscription management and recurring billing platform. It competes with the likes of Zoho, Zuora, Chargify, and Aria Systems to tap into the global SaaS market, poised to be worth $700 billion by 2030.

In February, Chargebee raised $250 million in a Series H round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. The round was co-led by Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Insight Partners, Sapphire, and Steadview Capital. The company had become a unicorn in April 2021 following $125 million series G funding from Sapphire Ventures, Tiger Global, and Insight Venture Partners.

Chargebee joins a growing list of startups that have resorted to layoffs amid the so-called funding winter. Last month, edtech unicorn Byju’s announced plans to lay off 2,500 employees. Some notable firms that have laid off employees of late include Cars24, Meesho, Udaan, Rupeek, MPL, Frontrow, and mFine.