According to reports, staff members have been let go by Shopee, the Sea Group’s online store, across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company’s move reflects its efforts to rationalize e-commerce operations due to rising inflation and high interest rates that are negatively impacting the global startup ecosystem. The layoffs have reportedly affected employees in several Southeast Asian markets. With Shopee allegedly emailing those affected by the changes, according to DealStreetAsia. Cuts are also reportedly being considered for Shopee’s food delivery service, ShopeeFood, and its payments division, ShopeePay.
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The company has also stopped hiring, and a number of job postings for positions. They took down different parts of the country when Shopee’s plans to grow internationally, including in Europe and Latin America, reportedly slowed down. Shopee already stopped doing business in India in March because the global market was in a bad place. Regional business organizations and the Indian government’s ban on its flagship game, Garena Free Fire, as well as 53 other Chinese apps, led to the decision. On February 14, the company lost $16 billion in New York as a result of the ban, which caused Sea’s stock to drop by 19%. Analysts thought that India may have brought in less than 10% of the company’s income. At the time, a Shopee spokesperson stated in a statement, “We have made the decision to end our early-stage Shopee India initiative. Due to the unpredictability of the global market. In order to make the transition as seamless as possible. We will concentrate on helping the local seller and buyer communities as well as our local team.”
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The most recent layoffs and hiring freeze indicate that Shopee is still feeling the effects of the uncertain global market. Especially as inflation and interest rates are still on the rise. The business has not yet responded to the current events. It’s unclear how these setbacks will affect Shopee’s long-term growth prospects. Whether the business will be able to successfully navigate the difficulties in the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem faces.
