Layoffs at Munchery as food delivery industry struggles

Layoffs at Munchery as food delivery industry struggles San Francisco food delivery service Munchery recently laid off 30 employees, a move that new CEO James Beriker said was necessary to streamline its operations. The layoffs, all of which took place at Munchery’s Mission District headquarters, come on the heels of Bloomberg reports that the company has struggled with food waste and has had difficulty finding a profitable business model. Before taking the job, he said, he was a customer of Munchery, using it to provide quick dinners for his four kids. “We have no intention of making any further layoffs,” he added. In a letter posted on the company’s website, founders Jason Demant and Vincent Cardillo said the closure was due to a number of factors, including their decision to sell their meal boxes wholesale. The volatility in the industry doesn’t seem to concern Beriker, who repeatedly has said that he’s confident with the Munchery’s direction. For now, the company will focus on addressing factors that have bedeviled other fledgling food delivery services, such as finding ways to balance the number of meals that get prepared on a daily basis with actual demand.