Singapore-based super app Grab Holdings is cutting 1,000 jobs, its Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan announced.
“I have difficult news to share today. We are letting over 1,000 Grabbers go. We are informing you after office hours for as many of our locations as possible, so you have the space and time to process the news privately,” he wrote, according to an extract from an email that Tan sent to the company’s staff.
“I want to be clear that we are not doing this as a shortcut to profitability. Over the past couple of years we’ve been consistent in managing costs tightly in all areas of our operations and on improving platform efficiency. As a result, our bottom line has improved every quarter since Q1 2022,” he said, adding that with or without the exercise, Grab is on track to hit group Adjusted EBITDA breakeven this year.
Tan said fundamental step-changes in its operating model and cost structure are needed to build Grab’s competitive moat for the longer-term.
“The primary goal of this exercise is to strategically reorganize ourselves, so that we can move faster, work smarter, and rebalance our resources across our portfolio in line with our longer term strategies,” he added.
“Restructuring thus emerged as a painful but necessary step, to set Grab on the correct trajectory towards our longer-term future,” he said.
Tan also said Grab will be providing various support to those affected. These include a severance payment of half a month for every six months of completed service, or based on local statutory guidelines, whichever is higher.
There will also be a goodwill payment of an ex-gratia amount determined by Grab for “forgone target bonus and equity”.
Career transition and development support in the form of free 1-year access to LinkedIn Premium subscription and LinkedIn Learning, and access to sessions with a professional coach will also be provided, among others.
Founded in 2012, Grab offers deliveries, rides and financial services in eight Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
While the NASDAQ-listed company leads Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and delivery markets, it has yet to reach profitability. The Singapore-headquartered company still spends on growth as it faces competition from rivals such as Indonesia’s GoTo Group.
Grab’s adjusted losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the first quarter narrowed to $66 million. On a net income basis, it is further away from profitability. In the first quarter, its net loss narrowed to $244 million from $423 million a year earlier.
Last month, Grab said it is ‘on track’ to achieve breakeven by the fourth quarter after its losses narrowed in the first quarter.
The group also said then it has revised up its full year adjusted EBITDA guidance range by $80 million to $90 million.
Its rival, Indonesia’s biggest tech firm PT Goto Gojek Tokopedia, announced in March another round of layoffs aimed at streamlining the organisation and boosting the company’s profitability.
About 600 roles will be affected, the company said in a statement, following 1,300 jobs that were cut late last year.