Oda lays off employees to collect billions of dollars – E24

Around 70 people will lose their jobs when Oda puts the brakes on the company’s international growth plans.

Oda is making drastic cuts in the company’s development group.

The Nettmat player estimates to lay off 70 of the almost 400 employees in the business area called Global Group Services.

This means that 18 per cent of the development group will be downsized. This amounts to approximately six percent of all employees in the Oda group. Most people who lose their jobs are in Norway.

– It is primarily a shame for the 70 this applies to, says Oda CEO and founder Karl Munthe-Kaas to E24.

He adds that this will mainly affect employees working on development and growth in the global organisation. Customers in Norway, Finland and Germany will not notice the changes, he maintains.

Collecting billions of dollars

A need for capital is the basis for the measures, according to the Oda boss.

The company has already announced this year that it will need more money to support global growth.

But in today’s market, it is more difficult for many investors to open their checkbook.

– The capital markets demand that we can demonstrate profitability in operations globally more quickly. Then we have to make changes in the organization that help us reach that goal, says Munthe-Kaas.

At the same time, he can inform that Oda is in the final phase of securing financing of around NOK 1.5 billion.

The Oda boss will not say much more about the capital raising yet, beyond the fact that the money comes from both internal and external investors. The funds are raised to reach profitability globally.

– If the market turns, so that we will grow faster again, then ironically we will need more money at some point.

Launching in Germany next year

Norway’s largest player for home delivery of food has in the past year launched expansive growth plans also outside the country’s borders.

Last year, the company raised over two billion kroner for establishment in Finland and Germany.

Oda started up in Finland earlier this year, but has postponed parts of the German launch. Earlier this autumn, the company postponed a planned opening in Bochum, but will open in Berlin in January as planned. Beyond this, the brakes are put on for further growth.

– We originally had a plan to expand significantly beyond this, but then came the Ukraine war, inflation and increased interest rates. In today’s capital market, it is difficult to launch in many regions in parallel, says Munthe-Kaas.

– Has it been a long time coming to slow down?

– Yes, you can say that, but everything is relative. Remember that it’s only been nine years since we started. This means that we are not in the hyperscaling phase that we were previously.

Delayed annual accounts

When E24 discussed the 2021 figures for Oda in January this year, it was an offensive Munthe-Kaas who spoke out.

– Growth will continue in 2022 with a new mega warehouse and international expansion, he said.

The CEO has stated that Oda’s turnover was NOK 2.47 billion last year. He also tells E24 that the company was profitable operating in Norway, if you exclude costs for international expansion.

However, it is still impossible to verify the figures. Three months after the deadline, the company has not yet submitted its accounts.

According to the Brønnøysund registers’ calculator, late fees of over NOK 24,000 have now accrued.

– We are still working on the accounts and will deliver them very soon, says Munthe-Kaas.

Giants on the owner’s side

During the capital raising last year, Oda brought along two giants on the ownership side.

The world’s largest technology fund, Softbank Vision Fund, invested one billion. So did Prosus, the investment arm of media company Naspers, which is one of the largest owners of Tencent and a number of other e-commerce companies.

Softbank has recently shown declining interest in Scandinavian companies.

In September, it became known that the Japanese giant is getting rid of shares worth NOK 1.3 billion in Kahoot.

At the end of the same month, the fund also decided to sell itself completely from Swedish Sinch.