The viral social media claim regarding mass layoffs at Fintech giant CRED has reignited the discussion regarding the job crisis of startups in India and hiring practices. The controversy started with a community page on Grapevine, Fintech India, who had posted a claim that the company had laid off over 30% of its tech staff in the last one to two months without revealing the details. The layoffs were done gradually to minimize the risk of attracting public attention to the company’s release, some workers were said to be receiving severance packages while others did not. The post also claimed that top officials were mainly singled out while the company went on hiring interns. The allegations had taken hold on social media platforms, but CRED has not officially commented.
Check The Viral Post
🤔 https://t.co/ZvnnI5DTDH pic.twitter.com/0Tt0a0e89T
— hiroshi (@daddynohara) May 26, 2026
What Did The Post Say?
The post went viral and triggered several discussions among users about India’s startup ecosystem being challenged by profitability concerns. Multiple social media users had suggested that the said cost reduction plans might have been linked to the said initial public offering (IPO) plans. Others noted the recent remarks made by CRED founder Kunal Shah regarding profitability, which hints that the cuts could have been to enhance the company’s financials. A common sentiment was that startups seemed to have a new trend of laying off employees quietly and touting profits and growth. Several tech companies also came under fire as critics charge that they have been substituting their experienced staff with entry level workers and interns, who cost less, to cut down on their operational costs.
What Is This ‘New Profit Formula’?
The discussion was later extended beyond CRED and eventually turned into a broader discussion regarding the employment practices in India’s Tech and Startup industry. Entrepreneurs and industry professionals in the Startup/Entrepreneur space on X pointed out that firms have been hiring too aggressively during growth times. A few users said that companies are now applying artificial intelligence, restructuring and profitability criteria to cut down on the cost of labor. The phenomenon was likened to a ‘new profit formula’ that included ‘over hiring’ and firing senior staff with interns and conducting ‘silent layoffs‘ while promising investors a strong financial performance, in one viral post. Others pointed out that relying too much on interns could have a detrimental impact on quality and future innovations.
Are The Allegations True?
The claims have come at a time when concerns have been rising with the startup community in India as funds have been drying up, costs have been skyrocketing, and investors are putting pressure on startups to become profitable. After years of aggressive growth spending, industry experts note, many startups are switching focus from growth to financial discipline. But the transparency of workforce cuts and the effect of multiple job cuts on employee morale and trust in the tech industry are still concerning. The allegations against CRED have yet to be confirmed, but the online sentiment underscores the overall apprehension about job safety in India’s startup sector, especially for the tech workforce grappling with a murky employment landscape.
