Dunzo delays employee salaries yet again, sets October as new deadline

Dunzo, a quick commerce startup backed by Reliance and Google, had earlier told its employees that their June and July salaries would be paid in September

Troubled quick commerce major Dunzo has reportedly yet again delayed payment of salaries to its employees by another month.

According to an internal email seen by Moneycontrol, the startup has informed its employees that it will transfer their pending payments by the end the first week of October. The company had earlier told its employees that their June and July salaries would be paid in September.

The company has also promised to pay an interest of 12 per cent per annum on pending dues, said the report.

"Please note that pending salaries for the months of June and July, due to be paid on September 4, will be paid in the first week of October. You will receive the salary dues along with a 12 percent p.a. interest, which will now be calculated for an additional month," said the email.

While "apologising" for the delay, the company said that crediting pending compensation "as early as possible" is its "top priority."

Dunzo added that it is doing "everything" to clear dues and is "confident" that there would be no further delays.

This is the third significant delay by the quick commerce startup in releasing the salaries of its employees. Before the September 4 deadline, Dunzo also missed the July 20 deadline for clearing the pending salaries.

In July, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup, backed by Google and Reliance Retail, postponed the payment of salaries to 500 employees, or 50 per cent of its total workforce, and capped salary payouts at Rs 75,000 per month per employee. As a row broke out, the company organised a town hall meeting with its employees, promising them their pending salaries would be cleared by September 4.

Amid a funding crisis and resignations of employees, the startup laid off 30 per cent (around 300 employees) of its total workforce.

The company is also facing legal notices from seven vendors for non-payment of dues totalling more than Rs 11 crore. It has also begun cost-cutting measures across the board, from shutting most of its dark stores (a retail facility resembling a mini-warehouse that houses goods to fulfil online orders) to pivoting to a marketplace model.

It has also been knocking at the doors of investors seeking cash infusion. 

Earlier this month, Dunzo was also reportedly in advanced talks to raise $100 million as part of its Series G funding round, which would be a mix of equity and debt, from existing investors, including Lightbox and Lightrock.