Online ordering company ChowNow is laying off 40 people, or about 10% of its staff, as demand for delivery continues to level out.
It’s the latest round of job cuts this year for the Los Angeles-based company, which laid off 20% of its workforce in July. It had 500 employees at that time.
“These actions are never taken lightly, but we believe they are necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the company and our commitment to supporting local restaurants,” ChowNow said in a statement.
In what has become a familiar tale in restaurant tech this year, companies that grew quickly earlier in the pandemic are downsizing as consumers return to more normal dining behaviors and investment capital dries up. ChowNow, which provides online ordering and delivery services for independent restaurants, is one example. DoorDash, which laid off 1,250 people earlier this month, is another.
In July, ChowNow CEO Chris Webb described the economic environment as a storm that the company planned to weather by cutting costs. That was during a wave of tech layoffs inside the restaurant industry and out. Other companies to cut jobs at the time were Nextbite, Lunchbox and Sunday.
ChowNow was founded in 2012 and works with about 20,000 local restaurants. With lower commissions and more data-sharing, it aims to be a more restaurant-friendly alternative to apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
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