Silo, a food supply chain software company, cuts workforce by 30% during merger and acquisition talks

Silo, a Bay Area food supply chain startup, is facing challenges as it recently laid off roughly 30% of its staff, or more than two dozen employees. The company confirmed the layoffs were across the board and not focused on individual departments.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Silo expressed its commitment to supporting the impacted team members with severance packages and recruiting support. Despite the layoffs, Silo remains dedicated to serving its customers and the perishables industry, focusing on building next-generation supply chain management software solutions.

Founded in 2018, Silo’s platform automates workflows for food and agricultural businesses and expanded into payment products, inventory management, ledger accounting, and financing. The layoffs were triggered by a revenue drop due to an issue with a lending product. A delinquent customer caused Silo’s banking partner to pause the loan product, impacting revenue.

Silo has resolved the issue with the customer and can now lend again, but the revenue loss led to the layoffs. The company is now cautious about ramping up the lending product moving forward. Additionally, Silo is reportedly engaged in merger and acquisition discussions as a possible resolution to its current situation.

Last summer, Silo raised $32 million in Series C funding from investors like Initialized, Haystack, Tribe Capital, KDT, and a16z. Despite the recent challenges, Silo is looking towards the future with a focus on innovation and growth in the food supply chain industry.