Yandex Market Slashing Headcount and Budget Amid Fierce E-Commerce Rivalry

Yandex Market is planning to reduce its headcount and budget, according to a report by Vedomosti citing unnamed sources. The sources claimed the budget could drop from 14 billion to 2 billion rubles, though a company representative stated that the marketplace's overall budget for the year remains unchanged while declining to specify what the 14 billion rubles previously funded.

The company's representative noted that the restructuring involves reviewing team structures, abandoning non-core projects, and eliminating duplicate functions. Marketing funds are set to be redistributed toward seller incentives and customer promotions, alongside cutting up to 15% of employees, many of whom may be offered internal rotations within other Yandex divisions. Management changes began earlier in the year, including spinning off logistics into a separate business unit to pursue break-even operations and explore an independent logistics platform model similar to Russian Post or CDEK.

Market observers attribute the shifts to the platform's late market entry and trailing position behind dominant competitors. Internal acknowledgments point to larger rivals pulling ahead, prompting a strategic pivot toward proprietary technologies, artificial intelligence integration, and live commerce formats. Just prior to the New Year, the service had already laid off 10% to 20% of its product, operations, and marketing teams.

Source: habr