Practo sacks 150 employees during annual appraisal cycle

Digital healthcare platform Practo has laid off around 150 employees as part of its annual performance appraisal cycle.

Bengaluru-headquartered Practo, founded in 2008 by Shashank ND, acts as a one-stop shop for patients booking appointments with doctors for online and in-person consultations.

"This is a combination of natural redundancies that emerge as we integrate our five acquisitions and evolve our businesses, as well as the performance required for the next phase of Practo's growth," VCCircle quoted company's spokesperson as saying.

The layoffs were not because of a cash crunch, but part of the regular appraisal process, the spokesperson added.

Practo will provide the outgoing employees with two months' pay and outplacement assistance, the report said.

Practo has about 1,500 employees. In January, the online healthcare platform raised $55 million from new and existing investors in a fresh round of funding led by Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings.

Apart from India, the company already has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brazil and Singapore. With more than 1 lakh doctors on board, the firm says 45 million appointments annually are currently managed through its website.