Daily Harvest Cuts Jobs – One Former Employee Describes the Staff Reduction as a ‘Mass Layoff’
The vegan meal delivery company has faced challenges in the last year, including a product that sickened many customers
Subscription meal delivery start-up Daily Harvest has cut jobs again, reportedly laying off employees this month, targeting over 20% of its staff.
The Daily Harvest cuts were first reported by Bloomberg, citing that the sources requested to remain anonymous. The exact number of affected employees is currently unknown.
The layoffs appeared to have taken place within the last week.
The New York-based vegan start-up, which attracted early investors Gwyneth Paltrow and Bobby Flay, has had a rather challenging year.
Some recently axed Daily Harvest employees took to LinkedIn to announce their departure and network for a new career. Like many involuntary job seekers, some who used to work at Daily Harvest have added LinkedIn’s green banner, indicating they are open to work.
A customer career associate described the recent Daily Harvest cuts as a “mass layoff.” Other now-former Daily Harvest employees identified as a Packaging Engineer, an accountant, and a Customer Experience Quality Specialist.
The new round of layoffs is the second within a year for the meal delivery company, as Daily Harvest cut jobs last August, impacting 15% of its staff.
Those summertime staff reductions occurred weeks after some Daily Harvest subscribers became extremely ill from eating frozen French Lentil & Leek Crumbles, a product that caused over 100 hospitalizations. However, employees were informed that the layoffs were the result of economic circumstances and were planned prior to the lentil debacle.
Many reports of illness were severe, with some Daily Harvest customers having their gallbladders removed and reporting abnormal liver function.
As many Daily Harvest subscribers shared their experiences with the mysterious sickness, taking to social media to compare notes, Rachel Drori, founder and CEO of the company, assured that the meal delivery brand was conducting comprehensive testing.
It was eventually discovered that tara flour, which is derived from seeds of the tara tree, had caused the serious gastrointestinal issues that many experienced.
More recently, the vegan meal delivery service signed on NBA star Blake Griffin to star in an ad. In the spot, Giffin attempts to write a note for Daily Harvest members, conjuring up the feeling he had when his mom would leave him a note in his lunch box.
The ad was developed by Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds’s digital marketing agency that was responsible for the resurrection of Mr. Big for Peloton.
