Gokada has laid off 54 members of staff. The email sent to the staff announcing the layoff reads,
“I regret to inform you that you have been affected by the reduction in our team effective Tuesday, January 31, 2023. We will not be making any further payments in respect of this change in your status with us. However, we will ensure that your salary for the month of January is processed before the end of the day.”
Although the first part of the email states that this was a layoff, the remaining staff members were asked to forward their resignation via peopleHum before the close of business.
According to reports, the staff members were asked to resign so the company’s reputation will not be tainted.
Gokada CEO’s Response To The Layoff
Gokada’s CEO, Tosin Oni, who confirmed the layoff, declined to say the number of people fired. According to him, “the layoffs affected people across the organization. We’re in a tough macro environment, and Nigeria has worsened economically. We’ve not been protected from that, and [these layoffs] are about trying to operate more efficiently.”
Gokada Struggling For A Long Time
When asked why it (Gokada) was trying to raise $750,000 (later amended to $100,000) which was unusual for them, three current and former employees told TechCabal that the company has been struggling for quite some time now. This resulted in the recent layoff.
It was revealed that all affected employees worked in operations as Gokada’s team of around 2,500 riders remain intact.
Explaining further, the anonymous employee said the quality assurance and driver relations teams were all laid off, adding that on the team of 11 people, nine were also laid off.
Backstory
The bike-hailing company which has been struggling since October 2022, began its layoff on November 14, 2022. The new CEO, Tosin Oni, who was a former partner at EchoVC was hired to make things better.
Instead of things getting better, on November 14, the company emailed employees to attend a town hall meeting in person. In the town hall meeting, the CEO made a shocking announcement which is to close down operations or lay off staff.
On November 14, the company emailed employees to attend a town hall meeting in person. One source at the meeting shared that the CEO said the company had two options: close down operations and ask everyone to go or lay off staff. In the end, the company chose to fire some employees.
Follow techkudi.com for more fintech or tech news
