Southeast Asian internet giant Sea Ltd’s e-commerce arm Shopee will lay off some workers in its ShopeeFood and ShopeePay teams in the region.
It will also let go part of its teams in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, as well as a cross-border team supporting the market in Spain, according to an internal memo seen by The Straits Times on Tuesday.
Shopee chief executive Chris Feng said it is “making some adjustments to optimize our operations in certain segments and markets” in the memo sent on Monday, the local media reported.
“(Given) elevated uncertainty in the broader economy, we believe that it is prudent to make certain difficult but important adjustments to enhance our operational efficiency and focus our resources,” he reportedly said.
The platform will also end its early-stage pilot in Spain. This comes after Shopee exited the French market in March. The e-commerce unit also exited the India market the same month.
“Our business will continue operating as per usual in Shopee Mexico, Argentina, Chile, as well as for ShopeeFood and ShopeePay in Southeast Asia. We are committed to providing the same level of support to our users, partners and merchants in all these markets,” Feng said.
The memo did not specify which Southeast Asian countries would be affected by the layoffs, according to the report. Shopee has 24 offices across several continents. In 2015, Shopee was launched in seven markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, its website showed.
Last month, Shopee’s parent company Sea reported that its first-quarter total revenue rose 64.4 percent to $2.9 billion. Net loss, however, widened to $580.1 million from $422.1 million. Excluding items, the company reported a loss per share of $1.04, Reuters reported last month.
Shopee will be joining several tech firms and crypto firms in laying off staff as companies are expecting a gloomy outlook.
Singapore-headquartered Crypto.com announced layoffs of about 260 staff, or 5 percent of its workforce, its CEO Kris Marszalek tweeted last Saturday. He said the company is making “difficult and necessary decisions” to “ensure continued and sustainable growth for the long term”.
Another platform for trading and lending cryptocurrency BlockFi also announced the reduction of its headcount. “We are reducing our headcount by roughly 20 percent and the reduction impacts every team at the company,” the firm said in a post on its website on Monday.
US electric maker Tesla has also laid off its country manager in Singapore, after its Founder and CEO Elon Musk reportedly warned of job cuts early this month. In an email to executives seen by Reuters, Musk said he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wants to cut about 10 percent of jobs at the company.
Elsewhere in Malaysia, home services platform Kaodim announced early this month it will cease operations starting from July 1, citing prolonged COVID lockdowns among the challenges it faced.
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