Getir shuts down operations in the UK, US, Europe; 6000+ employees affected

Istanbul-based Getir, an instant grocery delivery company, on Monday, April 29, said that it is shutting down its operations in the US, the UK, and Europe to focus only on Turkey. 

The operation shutdown is expected to affect at least 6,000 jobs across the markets; however, the company claims that it would only account for 7 per cent of its revenues. 

In addition to the closures, the company, once valued at $12B, announced the completion of a new funding round, led by Mubadala and G Squared, to strengthen its position in the food and grocery delivery industry in Turkey.

Similar to the current situation, the company withdrew operations from Spain, Italy, and Portugal nine months ago while it was on the verge of securing new funding.

Layoffs

Getir has announced the cutting of 1,500 jobs in the UK, reports Techcrunch. 

However, the company has not provided details about job cuts in other parts of the world. Reports suggest that around 1,100 employees in Germany are impacted. 

In November last year, the Istanbul company acquired FreshDirect in the US, which added 2,300 employees, bringing the estimated total number of job cuts to around 6,000. 

Notably, Getir had 32,000 employees a year ago.

The struggle

Getir, a Turkish startup that raised over $2.3B between 2017 to 2023 from investors, including Sequoia and Tiger Global, has struggled in the instant grocery delivery market. 

The company also made a few aggressive acquisitions to strengthen its position in the market. 

Despite generating over $3.3B in revenue in 2023, the company had to lay off 14 per cent of its staff and withdraw from some markets. However, it plans to focus on its home market and raise fresh capital to support its growth.

Getir: 10-minute grocery delivery

Founded in 2015 by Nazım Salur, Serkan Borançılı, and Tuncay Tütek, Getir is a technology company that operates in retail and logistics. 

The company claims to have revolutionised last-mile delivery with its 10-minute grocery delivery proposition. It delivers a selection of 2000 everyday items to its customers within 10 minutes, 24×7.