Singapore-based talent recruitment platform Glints has announced it is reducing its team size and retrenching some of its staff.

“It is with deep sadness that I must confirm that in order to adapt our business, we will be reducing our team size and saying goodbye to many of our talented Glintstars,” Glints Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Oswald Yeo said in a post on its website, addressing its staff. “For those who will be leaving us at Glints, I am truly sorry.

Yeo did not disclose how many staff will be retrenched. Quoting sources, local media Business Times reported that 18 percent of its team will be laid off. Glints had 1,000 employees, according to the report. Glints has yet to respond to TechNode Global‘s query at press time.

In his post, Yeo also explained the reason to retrench, of which he mainly cited uncertainties in the market and a slowdown in its business growth.

“2021 was a year of solid growth. We doubled down on the tech sector, which was experiencing phenomenal growth. We also doubled down on remote hiring and expansion into new markets, including the Philippines. Earlier this year, we closed our Series D to continue to accelerate our growth in these areas,” he wrote.

“However, the markets have changed drastically over the past six months. Many businesses have been hit hard. With market uncertainty, consumers are spending less, and businesses serving these consumers are also affected. As you can imagine, this has directly impacted our business and has translated to a slowdown in our overall business growth in the short term,” he said.

Glints’ announcement also came after Singapore-based recommerce platform Carousell said it is laying off 10 percent of its total headcount last week. Glints will be joining other tech startups in the region and globally to reduce their teams as global economic turbulence hit.

“Layoffs are always a last resort, but in order to adapt to the bear market and strengthen the resilience of our business, we must restructure and operate as efficiently and lean as possible. It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to part ways with some of our talented Glintstars,” Yeo said.

In his post, he also shared several initiatives and support packages Glints is providing to the impacted staff.

KrAsia reported last month that Glints has raised over $80 million, with a database of over 3.5 million professionals.

Glints said on its website that it is the leading talent ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Its mission is to enable the 120 million professionals in the region to grow their careers and empower organizations to hire the right talent from anywhere in Southeast Asia. Officially launched in 2015 in Singapore, Glints said it has empowered more than 3 million talent and 50,000 organizations to realize their human potential.

“Today, we stand at the forefront of human capital empowerment as the fastest-growing startup in the career development and talent recruitment space,” Glints said, adding that the company currently operates in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, and Taiwan.

Singapore’s Carousell Group cuts 10% of total headcount, Co-Founder says ‘deeply sorry’