PayU lays off 6% of its workforce to 'realign teams locally'

Tech firms laying off their workforce in 2022 (Image: Unsplash)

Fintech major PayU India has laid off around 6 percent of its workforce by cutting down 150 jobs as it aims to realign its teams locally, according to a report by Economic Times.

The layoffs at the Naspers-owned company are spread across teams and mainly impact PayU’s India unit and Wimbo, a payment security and mobile payment technology company it acquired in 2019. PayU is the payments and fintech business of Prosus, the investment arm of South African multinational Naspers.

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PayU India’s fintech businesses include Wimbo, Citrus and LazyPay. “Keeping in mind our highest strategic priorities, we are realigning teams across some businesses in India. We will have (to) part ways with some of our colleagues. Close to 150 employees, which is less than 6 percent of our total employee strength, will be impacted from organisational realignment," a PayU spokesperson was quoted by media reports as saying.

The statement added that it was necessary to ensure that PayU had the right structure and resources, and is nimble enough to respond to a fast-evolving fintech market and seize the opportunities, as the company focuses on creating a full-stack digital financial services ecosystem in India.

Earlier this year, Prosus, which owns PayU, shelved a proposed $4.7-billion acquisition of online payments gateway BillDesk by PayU. The termination came within a month of India’s antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) approving the deal, which was first announced in August 2021.