Proptech startup Rentilium has laid off a large share of its workforce following an alleged internal financial irregularity, according to employees and a company executive.
Employees told Storyboard18 that last month, several employees were abruptly told not to return to work. They received a message from human resources department, which said a promise of getting a two-month severance package will also receive. However, for others, the assurance rang hollow.
“We were asked not to come to the office anymore,” an employee said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“They said salaries for two months will be paid”. However, another employee pointed to delayed wages and questioned whether the company could meet even those commitments. “Our salaries have already been delayed. We don’t know if anything will come”.
What has unfolded inside Rentilium, a startup with offices in Bengaluru and Gurugram, reflects a familiar pattern in India’s volatile startup ecosystem, where allegations of internal misconduct, fragile finances, and abrupt workforce cuts collide, often leaving junior employees to absorb the shock.
Employees estimated that nearly 65% of the company’s workforce has been affected, with around 30 of the 95 staff at the Noida office handed pink slips, according to them.
Most of them impacted are freshers with barely a year or more of experience.
However, Rentilium’s global director of human resources, Deepak Kumar, said that about 14 employees had been “separated” as part of a “compensatory move” after a forgery incident involving members of the sales leadership.
“The company has recently faced forgery sales made by the sales leaders,” he said, adding that the resulting financial strain had forced operational decisions.
“The company remains committed to ensuring that all affected employees are treated fairly,” Kumar said, noting that the notice period compensation would be honoured in accordance with company policy.
Separately, some employees alleged that they were encouraged to resign voluntarily amid fears of further job cuts, only to be told they must serve a two-month notice period or risk not receiving their experience certificates.
The company’s financials suggest a business under strain. Data from Tracxn showed that Rentilium reported a revenue of $186,72 in fiscal year 2025, while narrowing its losses to $32,318 from $52,002 a year earlier. But these gains were overshadowed by a sharp escalation in costs. Employee expenses surged more than 31,000% year-on-year, from a negligible base of $477 in FY24 to $146,974 in FY25, while operating expenses rose 329% to $218,490.
Rentilium’s turmoil is not an isolated incident. Across India’s startup sector, layoffs have become a recurring feature of the post-pandemic correction. More than 4,500 jobs have been cut since July last year, according to the data from executive search firm Longhouse Consulting. In Bengaluru, an IT startup reportedly dismissed 40% of its workforce in a single day, highlighting the volatility in the sector.
The incident highlights how management lapses and uneven financial discipline can quickly destabilise smaller startups, leaving their youngest workers the most exposed in an already volatile job market increasingly reshaped by the rise of AI.