Truecaller will lay off around 70 employees, roughly 15% of its workforce, in the second quarter of 2026 after reporting a 27% year-on-year decline in net sales and a sharp slide in revenue from India, its largest market.
The Sweden-based caller identification firm announced the workforce reduction alongside its Q1 2026 earnings, where net sales fell to 362 million Swedish krona, or about $39.34 million. India revenue dropped 41% year-on-year, while advertising revenue fell 44% during the quarter. The company said the restructuring will result in one-time costs of nearly SEK 22 to 23 million in the second quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Rishit Jhunjhunwala attributed the steep decline to the absence of advertising spend from India’s real-money gaming sector, changes in advertising algorithms by a major programmatic partner, and reduced business activity in the Middle East amid regional conflict.
“The year-on-year comparison looks especially weak given that Q1 and Q2 last year included a large contribution coming from the real money gaming sector in India in connection with the IPL season that takes place around this time,” Jhunjhunwala said during the earnings call.
Real-money gaming platforms such as Dream11 and MPL were banned in India last year, and the segment, valued at over $23 billion before the restrictions, had been a major advertiser on Truecaller during the Indian Premier League season. Analysts cited by TechCrunch earlier this year identified Google as the programmatic partner whose algorithm changes have weighed on the company’s ad revenues.
India remains Truecaller’s largest market, accounting for over 70% of its more than 500 million users. The company has been facing structural pressure from telecom-led caller identification services in India, including the Calling Name Presentation system being rolled out by operators, and recorded a 5% year-on-year decline in global downloads in 2025.
Subscription revenue, however, rose 27% year-on-year during the quarter and now accounts for 31% of net sales. Truecaller has been adding paid features such as AI Assistant and Family Protection in an effort to reduce its dependence on advertising income.
Truecaller’s stock has fallen by more than 79% over the last 12 months and is down over 26% so far this year, though it recovered some ground following the Q1 results. The layoffs are expected to be concentrated across full-time positions in multiple departments as the company prepares for a more challenging operating environment.
