SINGAPORE – Employees impacted by the recent job cuts at e-commerce platform Shopee will receive “reasonable compensation packages” in line with market norms, the company said in a joint statement with the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU) on Monday.
This comes as some Singapore employees were told they were involved in more layoffs on Monday.
The Straits Times estimates that a low single-digit percentage of Shopee employees will be affected, although it’s not clear how many of the platform’s regional markets will be impacted by this latest cost-cutting move.
The layoffs at Shopee include employees in human resources, regional operations, marketing and product and engineering, The Business Times reported on Monday.
It also cited sources as saying some workers, including those in Singapore and China, began receiving email alerts about their layoffs shortly after department-wide town halls on Monday.
Shopee, Sea’s e-commerce arm listed on the New York Stock Exchange, had downsized employees in its ShopeeFood and ShopeePay teams in the region earlier this year.
The parent company has embarked on extensive cost-cutting measures in recent months, with questions about its cash-making prospects intensifying amid the challenging global environment and the widespread decline in tech stocks.
Earlier this month it also cut staff at its gaming arm, Garena, and its research and development unit, Sea Labs.
A Shopee spokesperson said in a statement: “These changes are part of our ongoing efforts to optimize operational efficiencies with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency across our business.
“We are supporting our affected colleagues during this transition.”
The Shopee and CMPU joint statement said they will provide employment facilitation and support where needed, including career coaching and job-matching services through the CMPU network and the National Trades Union Congress’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute). .
CMPU will continue to work closely with Shopee to ensure employee interests and welfare are taken into account as much as possible, it added.
Bloomberg reported Monday that Sea is preparing to lay off 3 percent of Shopee’s employees in Indonesia, as part of a broader wave of regional job cuts to stem mounting losses and win back investors.
Affected teams included Shopee’s marketing and operations units.
Last week, Sea co-founder Forrest Li said in an internal memo that members of Sea’s top management will forgo their salaries and limit business expenses, stressing the need for the company to become “self-sufficient.”
