New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS): Used car retailing platform Spinny has laid off nearly 300 employees in a cost-cutting exercise, hitting Truebil and Spinny Max staffers the hardest as the two divisions merged into the main platform, the media reported.

According to Entrackr, citing sources, the job cuts will impact around 4.5 per cent of the total workforce which is over 6,000 currently.

The goal is to have cleaner and more focused execution going forward, as well as to offer everything to customers on the same platform, which is why the layoffs are taking place, according to the company.

"We have witnessed a sharp uptick in demand for reliable, budget-friendly cars as most people have resumed work from the office. By splitting our inventory of cars across different brand platforms, we were sometimes unable to offer enough options to such customers. With this consolidation, we should be able to meet the needs of these customers well," the company said in a statement.

Apart from three months' severance pay, the company has accelerated ESOP vesting for impacted employees and allows them to keep their assets, the report mentioned.

Some employees also took to LinkedIn to talk about the layoffs.

"I would like to announce that I have been laid off (from) Spinny... My tenure here was a very enriching but short-lived one. As bitter as this may be, life goes on...," a LinkedIn user posted on Wednesday.

In 2021, Spinny announced the closure of a $283 million funding from new and existing investors, taking its valuation to $1.8 billion and becoming another unicorn that year.

This is the company's first layoff, while competitors such as CarDekho and Cars24 have already fired hundreds of employees in the last few years.

Cars24 laid off 600 employees last year, and CarDekho also issued pink slips to several employees in 2022.