Frictionless checkout company Grabango lays off employees across several departments

Dive Brief:

Grabango, the frictionless checkout provider that’s made its way into several convenience store chains and has touted plans to integrate its tech inside supermarkets, has laid off an undisclosed number of employees, Ken Fenyo, the company’s chief marketing officer, confirmed via email to sister publication C-Store Dive.
The reduction in force (RIF) made last week impacted team members across Grabango’s marketing, engineering and sales departments, according to LinkedIn posts written by several impacted employees.
While many of these employees posted to LinkedIn that Grabango’s RIF included 40% of the company, Fenyo emphasized via email that it “was not as significant as 40%.”

Dive Insight:

Grabango employees who posted on LinkedIn that they were part of the RIF included the company’s head of client success; a senior machine learning infrastructure engineer; a business development and strategic partnership manager; a computer vision engineer; a field marketing manager; and a product marketing team member.

Three of these former Grabango employees noted that the RIF impacted 40% of the company, while one said it hit 50%.

When asked via email to corroborate these statements, Fenyo declined to provide details except for the statement that it was “not as significant” as 40%.

According to its LinkedIn profile, Grabango has around 120 employees.

Founded in 2016 by Will Glaser, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Pandora Radio, Grabango’s contactless technology lets customers enter stores, select any non-age-restricted products and pay through the retailer’s mobile app by scanning a code instead of standing in line at a cash register.

Grabango’s platform has been tested at select locations of several large-scale c-store retailers over the years, including BP, GetGo Cafe + Market, Mapco, Circle K and ExtraMile Convenience Stores.

While other frictionless checkout technology companies have integrated with stores inside stadiums, airports and other non-traditional locations, Grabango has remained focused on brick-and-mortar retail stores. In an interview late last year, Fenyo said Grabango intends to place its equipment inside supermarkets. The company has tested its technology inside an unnamed 40,000-square-foot supermarket.

It remains unknown how Grabango’s RIF will impact its partnerships with c-store retailers, as well as other businesses across other industries it works with.