Zepto IPO Filing Shows Employee Attrition at 51%

According to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed ahead of the Zepto IPO, the quick commerce company reported a sharp spike in employee attrition alongside a shrinkage of its permanent workforce for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 (FY26). The disclosures land just as Zepto prepares for one of the year’s most closely watched public market debuts.

The numbers reveal the human resources and operational churn happening behind the scenes as the company aggressively scales its top-line revenue.

1. The Core Attrition Breakdowns

The regulatory filings separate Zepto’s attrition into two major brackets: corporate staff and on-the-ground operational field forces.

• Corporate Permanent Employees: Attrition among permanent corporate staff jumped significantly to 51.28% in FY26, up from 40.48% in FY25. Because of this heavy churn, Zepto’s total permanent headcount shrank by 3.6% year-on-year, dropping to 5,212 employees.
• The Tech and Strategy Core: The shrinkage was most acute within the company’s central corporate functions (combined tech and non-tech offices), which contracted 13.6% down to 1,773 employees. Specifically, core technology teams witnessed a 15.6% drop in headcount.
• The Overall Gig-Worker Fleet: When factoring in Zepto’s massive operational backbone of 48,011 frontline workers—the pickers, packers, warehouse loaders, and last-mile delivery associates supporting its 1,139 dark stores—the company’s overall attrition rate reached a massive 73.22% for the fiscal year.

The table below summarises how the key attrition figures moved between FY25 and FY26, based on the company’s own DRHP disclosures.

Attrition Metric	FY25	FY26
Corporate permanent employees	40.48%	51.28%
Overall workforce (incl. frontline)	—	73.22%
Core technology team headcount	—	−15.6% drop

2. Senior Leadership Flight

The corporate restructuring coincided with a visible wave of executive departures across key business verticals over the trailing quarters, including:

• Chandan Rungta (CEO of Zepto’s meat vertical, Relish)
• Apoorv Pandey (Senior Vice President of Strategy)
• Shashank Shekhar Sharma (CXO at Zepto Cafe)
• Chandresh Dedhia (Vice President and Head of IT)
• Anant Rastogi (Senior Director of Brand)

3. The Structural Drivers Behind the Churn

In its regulatory filing, Zepto attributed the workforce turbulence to a mix of planned operational pivots and industry-wide norms:

• The Shift to Third-Party Payrolls: Zepto launched an aggressive cost-efficiency campaign that moved hundreds of specialized customer support and operational staff off its direct corporate payroll and onto third-party service vendors to lower fixed monthly costs.
• Aggressive Automation Pipelines: The company replaced several off-roll and operational functions with proprietary internal software dashboards designed to handle invoice processing, automated inventory replenishment, and real-time real estate management.
• Industry Churn Dynamics: Zepto highlighted that hyper-elevated turnover rates are common across the quick commerce sector due to the high-intensity nature of warehouse management and hyper-local delivery logistics.

4. Hyper-Growth vs. Widening Losses

The talent friction stands in stark contrast to Zepto’s explosive market performance. In its updated DRHP, the company reported that its annual operating revenue more than doubled, surging 103.6% to reach ₹22,623.5 crore in FY26. That builds on Zepto’s ₹11,110 crore FY25 revenue, underscoring just how fast the top line has compounded.

However, full-year net losses also expanded by 25.6%, climbing to ₹5,905.1 crore due to surging delivery management, handling, and supply chain infrastructure deployment costs. Despite the workforce contraction, Zepto is moving forward with its blockbuster ₹8,010 crore IPO, having earmarked over ₹1,620 crore of the fresh proceeds strictly to expand its dark store footprint. The competitive backdrop is intensifying too, with JioMart’s quick commerce expansion adding pressure on pure-play operators like Zepto.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Zepto’s attrition so high?

According to its DRHP, Zepto’s attrition climbed to 51.28% for corporate permanent staff and 73.22% overall in FY26 due to a mix of factors: a deliberate shift of support and operational staff onto third-party payrolls to cut fixed costs, aggressive automation that replaced several off-roll functions with internal software, and the structurally high turnover that is common across the quick commerce sector given the intensity of warehouse and last-mile work.

When is the Zepto IPO?

Zepto is moving forward with a ₹8,010 crore IPO, having filed its updated DRHP ahead of the public market debut. The company has earmarked over ₹1,620 crore of the fresh proceeds specifically to expand its dark store footprint. The DRHP filing is the formal step that precedes the listing, with the exact dates to be confirmed by the company and its bankers.

How big is the Zepto IPO?

The Zepto IPO is sized at ₹8,010 crore, making it one of the year’s largest new-economy listings in India. Per the DRHP, more than ₹1,620 crore of the fresh proceeds is earmarked to expand the company’s dark store network, with the remainder going toward general corporate purposes and growth.

What will Zepto use the IPO proceeds for?

According to Zepto’s DRHP, over ₹1,620 crore of the fresh IPO proceeds is allocated specifically to expanding its dark store footprint, which underpins faster delivery and wider coverage. The capital raise is aimed at funding growth even as the company works to narrow its losses.

What were Zepto’s revenue and losses in FY26?

Zepto’s FY26 DRHP reported operating revenue of ₹22,623.5 crore, up 103.6% year-on-year from ₹11,110 crore in FY25. Net losses widened 25.6% to ₹5,905.1 crore, driven by higher delivery management, handling and supply chain costs as the company scaled its quick commerce network.