Lazada cuts staff all over Southeast Asia

According to reports, the layoffs affect hundreds of workers, with Singapore feeling the most effects. A representative for Lazada in Singapore stated that staff changes were made in order to restructure and optimize operations in preparation for future business requirements. Even though they did not confirm the layoffs directly.

“This transformation necessitates that we reassess our workforce requirements and operational structure to ensure Lazada is better positioned to future-proof our business and people,” the business stated in a statement provided to CNBC.

The continuing transformation of the e-commerce platform is considered a strategic endeavor to create a work environment that is more agile and productive. The business emphasizes how crucial it is to reassess labor requirements and operational frameworks in order to put Lazada in a position to succeed and adapt over the long run.

Lazada is an online marketplace in several Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It offers various services, including marketing, retail, and commercial. These functions are expected to be impacted by the rumored layoffs, which will occur over the week.

Lazada has operated as a part of the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group. Alongside companies such as AliExpress, Trendyol, and Daraz, ever since it became a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group in 2016.

In the Southeast Asian market, the e-commerce behemoth faces fierce competition. Particularly from rivals like Sea Limited’s Shopee and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop, a short video app.

With the announcement of the strategic agreement between TikTok and GoTo. These are the two of Indonesia’s biggest tech companies, in December, the competitive dynamics in the market intensified.

As part of this partnership, Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s activities would be combined into an expanded Tokopedia company. A significant component of this deal is TikTok’s commitment to invest $1.5 billion gradually and acquire a controlling 75.01% interest.

This is a direct reaction to Indonesia’s October regulatory decision to forbid online sales on social media platforms. It was made to protect regional retailers.

In order to assure compliance with the legislative changes, TikTok was forced to stop its online store, TikTok Shop.