Automation slashes Alerzo’s Workforce in new layoff round
Advances in technology continue to drive transformation and automation to power efficient work output in the e-commerce space.
Seemingly, how nice it is, these changes have come with challenges as Nigeria’s e-commerce startup Alerzo recently made headlines for laying off a portion of its workforce owing to warehouse automation.
Reports have it that 100 employees of the company have made up the latest round of layoffs after the company had laid off 4oo of its employees in March 2023 and 5% of its workforce in September 2022. These three rounds of layoff have seen Alerzo’s workforce decrease from 2000 to less than 700 in 3 years.
According to Alerzo’s spokesperson, “As a company, we’ve invested and built an end-to-end warehouse management system that has improved process automation,” the company said in the statement. “These technological investments have enhanced warehouse performance, including our turnover and sales metrics. Unfortunately, this has meant streamlining and consolidating certain warehouse roles.”
The report also revealed that the recent layoff affected the workforce at the company’s 40 warehouses. It also indicated that the new software removed the necessity for keeping lines of approval, and thus closed unnecessary gaps.
The company has promised to pay a month’s salary and also keep their HMO active till the end of 2023.
Alerzo’s development with automation as an e-commerce startup involved in the retail sector isn’t far-fetched from driving operational efficiency through cost reductions and staying competitive as it evolves in the retail landscape. The automation process would be integrated into daily operations to streamline workflows and tasks.
As Alerzo charts its new course through its automotive process, the tale unfolds as a complex narrative of progress that will continue to challenge the human workforce.
Got an interesting scoop or news tip? Shoot an email with the subject “story worth telling” to [email protected]