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Clear Layoffs: A Significant Workforce Reduction Affecting 20-25%

Clear, previously known as Cleartax, has recently executed layoffs impacting approximately 20 to 25% of its workforce, effective from August 1. Sources familiar with the situation revealed that the layoffs have notably affected several recently onboarded employees, including freshers who joined only two months prior.

A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated, “The company is reducing its workforce as part of a restructuring initiative,” indicating that about 145 employees have been affected, most receiving standard severance packages.

While Clear has acknowledged the layoff initiative, they maintain that only 16% of staff were let go. A spokesperson from Clear commented, “At Clear, we have consistently emphasised our commitment to being an employee-first organisation, fostering an environment centred around learning, innovation, and growth. Our recent strategic restructuring has impacted about 16% of our workforce, including a small subset of early-career staff.” The spokesperson further added, “To assist them, we are providing enhanced severance packages, maintaining health insurance, and ensuring active outplacement support through engagements with industry partners.”

Reports suggest that the layoffs caught many new employees off guard, with some having just completed a brief tenure at the consumer fintech firm. Several affected individuals took to LinkedIn to express their experiences. Anoop Singh, an IIT Guwahati graduate who became a software engineer in June, shared feelings of deep unfairness, noting he hadn’t been given the opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities. Singh’s post highlighted his intention to seek opportunities and connections rather than sympathy.

Another employee, Harshit Swarnkar, mentioned that his offer for the software engineer role was rescinded due to difficult business choices.

Clear provides taxation and financial solutions catering to both businesses and individuals. For businesses, the company offers services such as accounts payable, e-invoicing, and invoice discounting through Finance Cloud, Compliance Cloud, and Supply Chain Cloud. For individuals, it streamlines tax filing and related services.

This latest round of layoffs is occurring exactly three years following the previous job cuts. In September 2022, Clear dismissed around 20% of its employees across various departments, which included tech, product, sales, and support teams.

Interestingly, these job cuts coincide with the peak period for income tax return filings—a critical season for the firm. Clear primarily generates revenue from taxation-related and corporate secretarial services, with the Indian government setting September 15 as the filing deadline.

A source indicated that Clear is experiencing a cash crunch, which has led to the decision to terminate a considerable number of employees. The company has been unable to secure new funding since October 2021. According to various sources in startup data intelligence, Clear has raised a total of $140 million to date, with Kora, Composite Capital Management, and Stripe serving as its primary investors.

These job reductions take place despite the company reporting a significant increase in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2024. Clear experienced a 93% rise in operating revenue, reaching Rs 209.84 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 108.77 crore in FY23. Additionally, the firm decreased its losses by nearly 59% to Rs 96.24 crore and reduced total expenditures by almost 10%. Clear has yet to submit its annual report for the previous fiscal year (FY25).

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