SoftBank-backed delivery company Rappi lays off 6% of workforce

Latin American delivery startup Rappi announced that it dismissed 6% of its employees. This measure came after Japan’s Softbank Group invested a total of $1 billion in Rappi.

Rappi did not provide specific figures on how many jobs they have cut. According to the Brazil Journal news outlet, Rappi has 5,000 people working for them, which means that 300 people may have lost their jobs.

Rappi said that its “internal leadership team” made the decision. Among the company’s board of directors is a representative from SoftBank.

SoftBank has been trying to make Rappi a success after the big losses of its two large investments, WeWork and Uber.

Rappi has expanded its business in nine countries, delivering groceries, restaurant meals, medication, and even furniture. It has also branched out to a scooter rental, travel, and banking services.

“We are in fact actively hiring a large number of people in our areas of focus for 2020,” the company said, describing that it prioritizes technology.

“We are investing heavily in our tech team, automating some roles, re-balancing areas and embracing high performers,” Rappi said, without specifying how many people it plans to hire.

Rappis is also in the process of creating a trove of data on consumer and sales of over millions of users. This information is said to be sought after by many consumer brands, supermarkets, restaurants, and stores.

The $1 billion investment of SoftBank on Rappi made the firm its biggest investment in Latin America. The Japanese conglomerate plans to invest up to $5 billion on the region.

Rappi co-founder Sebastian Mejia said that the company’s priority is to grow fast, and that the investors were agreeing with the plan.