Gopuff Announces Cuts to U.S. Network and Global Workforce

Gopuff, the e-commerce startup and recent entrant into the world of private label, says it is making cuts to its workforce and fulfillment network to "accelerate profitability."

First covered by Store Brands’ sister publication Progressive Grocer, the Philadelphia-based instant commerce company said in a note to investors it is now "targeting full company profitability in 2024 while maintaining a strong cash balance throughout."

To achieve this, the company plans to close and consolidate 12% of its micro-fulfillment network in the U.S. (about 76 warehouses) and expand delivery zones for other, higher-performing sites to continue delivering to the majority of customers in those areas. The company also plans to reduce its global workforce by 10% (around 1,500 workers).

“We will be informing impacted employees throughout the day today. While difficult, this restructures us to align more closely around business priorities while accelerating our path to profitability," according to a company statement written by co-founders and co-CEOs Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev. “We have proven that our core business generates strong unit economics. We will therefore focus investments in our core instant delivery business and select revenue-generating initiatives. This includes optimizing our assortment to drive higher baskets (including becoming the first authorized retailer of Apple products in the instant commerce space), enhancing our forecasting technology to create more accurate staffing and planning functions, and adding new integrations and features to our inventory management across our omnichannel MFCs, retail locations and traditional Gopuff MFCs."

In March, Gopuff appointed three new figures to its leadership team that would tackle the company’s prepared foods, communications and regulatory affairs. Gopuff added that it will be making cutbacks in the U.S., the company will expand in the U.K.

"We are doubling down on international investment in the U.K. after seeing impressive traction in the market despite only being there less than a year, including 10x monthly order growth,” said the company. “We believe the U.K. offers the largest market opportunity paired with a clear path to generating profit, so we look forward to continuing to build on our early success. As we do this, we will re-evaluate our investment in other international markets."