Online grocery firm Oda plans to merge its Swedish, Norwegian and global management group as it seeks to achieve profitability in the Norwegian and Swedish markets by 2025.
As a result, Oda plans to downsize its workforce by 150 in Oda Group Service and postpone further international expansion.
Before Christmas 2023, Oda merged with Mathem – its counterpart in Sweden.
The conversion to Oda’s customer and logistics platform is in full swing in Sweden and will help to increase efficiency in the warehouse and distribution for Mathem, the company noted.
In Norway, the online grocery provider employed over 400 drivers in the past year to meet the growing demand.
‘Necessary And Important’ Measures
Chris Poad, CEO of Oda stated, “This is an emotional day. It is sad to have to say goodbye to talented colleagues who have put in an enormous amount of effort for Oda and our customers, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for the work they have done and wish them all the best in the future.
“At the same time, I believe that the measures we are now taking are necessary and important to ensure that Oda becomes profitable and that even more customers can get low prices delivered to their door.”
New Management
The merger will see Mathem, Oda Norway and Oda Group Services come together under a new, joint management group.
The new organisation will be led by Chris Poad, while the current CEO of Oda Norway, Kristin Thornes, will take up the role of chief strategy officer.
Elsewhere, the country manager of Sweden, Johan Lagercrantz, has decided to step down.
In June 2023, Oda announced it was ‘phasing out’ its food delivery service in Germany.