As the global funding crisis damages businesses, quick commerce company Airlift has announced the closure of its operations in South Africa and some towns in Pakistan.
“In light of the significant downturn in global capital markets, Airlift is realigning its operations to reduce the surface area of operations and focus on key areas that drive sustainability and profitability.” Airlift is pulling out of certain markets, including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Pretoria, as part of its efforts to reduce surface area. In a statement, Airlift said
According to Airlift, “In addition, the company is relocating 8-10 dark stores in our largest markets (Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad), which account for nearly 90% of our revenue.” According to the statement, “Airlift’s strategy is to focus on building scale and profitability in markets with significant scale and high order density.”
Airlift is also decreasing headcount by 31% across the board and limiting the number of categories available on the site. “For the company, making the decision to part ways with talented teammates has been extremely difficult. Airlift is committed to helping impacted teammates find new jobs by providing financial and placement assistance.
These decisions, according to Airlift, are a critical step toward the company’s long-term vision of empowering people and leveraging technology to provide customer-centric solutions. “By narrowing our operations, Airlift hopes to achieve greater depth in key areas and provide better value to customers in our largest markets,” the company said.