Bhubaneswar, May 24 -- New Delhi: The Covid-19 blow appears to have forced even those startups and unicorns that have managed to raise new funding go for a leaner workforce, firing employees in thousands.

Foodtech Unicorn Swiggy, for example, raised almost Rs 1,185 crore this year as part of its Series -I round.

And yet, the company had to announce its plans this month to let go of 1,100 employees, nearly 14 per cent of its workforce, spanning across grades and functions in the cities and head office as Covid-19 continues to hurt its business across verticals.

"The biggest impact here is on the Cloud kitchens business, with many unknowns about volumes through the year. Since the onset of Covid-19, we have already begun the process of s...