Let’s play a game. What do Jackie Chan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Phua Chu Kang, Mark Lee and Jianhao Tan all have in common?
That’s right: They’re all Shopee brand ambassadors.
Plus, they’re all still employed—not something we can say for all Shopee staff, unfortunately.
The Big Cut
For the average person dwelling on Shopee, a cut looks a little like a strike through the $3.99 on the jelly iPhone case you’ve been eyeing, with a bright orange $1.99 above it.
For employees at Shopee, a cut’s a little more like a termination letter and a compensation package.
Well, at least there’s a compensation package.
It’s no secret that the e-commerce giant Shopee has been conducting a series of job cuts, and none of the departments have escaped unscathed.
Human resources, regional operations, marketing, product and engineering, and even staff from ShopeeFood and ShopeePay teams in the region have been affected by the mass layoffs.
Today (19 Sept), some staff in Singapore were informed that they were laid off in Shopee’s latest round of job cuts, and just earlier this month, we heard of how Shopee prematurely ended Lin Ge’s chronicles in Nanyang.
While only a low single-digit percentage of Shopee staff are affected by the job cuts thus far, it’s safe to say that Shopee’s cost-cutting exercise doesn’t end here, and the e-commerce giant’s regional markets aren’t off the hook yet.
So why the extensive cost-cutting?
Shopee’s parent company, Sea Limited, can answer that. (without an orange background and the notable Shopee jingle, but we’ll make do with what we have…)
Sea earlier this year, in an effort to cut costs, cut staff in even its gaming arm Garena and its research and development unit, Sea Labs.
Such a move was brought about in light of worsening prospects, especially with an increasingly challenging global environment and speculations of the end of tech’s dominance in the stock market.
The co-founder of Sea, Forrest Li, had even said in an internal memo, which isn’t exactly that “internal” now, that the top management will be forgoing their salaries and limiting business expenses. Li also emphasised the necessity of self-sufficiency for the company.
Compensation, nonetheless
In line with market norms, Shopee employees laid off in the most recent round of job cuts will be receiving “appropriate compensation packages”.
It’s no 9.9 sale, but its compensation nonetheless.
Shopee is also working closely with the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU) to provide more support to affected staff.
Other forms of support include career coaching and job matching services offered via CMPU and the National Trades Union Congress’ e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
Featured Image: Emoji Dream / Shutterstock.com
