According to media reports, Bengaluru-based retail tech startup Dukaan has laid off around 57 employees this week. The startup has cut down on headcount in operations, including sales, business development, and operations.

Prior to this layoff, the startup had laid off nearly 23 employees in September last year. At that time, it cited that since it had shifted its focus from small kiranas to direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and small and medium businesses (SMBs), it had to fire a few employees.

Dukaan, founded in 2020 by Suumit Shah, Subhash Choudhary, and Kaustub Pandey, has secured a total of USD 18.4 million so far. Venture capital firms such as Lightspeed India, Matrix Partners, and Venture Catalysts are some of the investors in the startup.

Media reports added that the recent layoffs were made with the aim of cutting costs and securing funding to maintain the runway, but the lack of funding has only aggravated the situation.

Dukaan's layoffs come at a time when the Indian digital startup industry is suffering from a prolonged funding slump. Several hundred people were laid off by firms such as Dunzo, Sharechat, Rebel Foods, Captain Fresh, BharatAgri, Ola, Byju's, DeHaat, Skit.ai, Coin DCX, LEAD School, Bounce, and Cashfree in the first two months of 2023.