The parent company of Shopee, Sea, announced on 15 September that the leaders of the company will not be drawing salaries until the company becomes self-sufficient again, as the company tries to tide over their crisis.
Shopee is now going ahead with the retrenchment of more workers, according to The Business Times on 19 September.
The retrenchment will include staff based in Singapore, including workers deployed in human resources, regional operations, marketing, and product engineering.
The unfortunate news was announced to the staff during a town hall meeting held yesterday, although no exact number of workers to be retrenched was announced.
BT also reported that not only Singapore employees were affected, but other workers overseas also received retrenchment emails in China and Indonesia.
Company aims to be more “sustainable”
The retrenchment is believed to be part of the company’s plans to become more sustainable over the next 12 to 18 months.
Shopee said, “These changes are part of our ongoing efforts to optimise operating efficiency to achieve self-sufficiency across our business. We are extending support to our affected colleagues during this transition.”
They added that they will give appropriate compensation packages to the affected employees who are retrenched in line with the market norms.
They have also been in touch with NTUC’s e2i over the latest retrenchment, who will be offering employment facilitation and assistance, including career coaching and job matching services.
Recently withdrew job offers to new employees
Shopee recently withdrew a number of job offers for positions at their headquarters in Singapore, according to Panda Daily via Tech In Asia.
As a result, two related rights-protection groups were formed, with more than 60 and 200 members respectively.
Tech In Asia reported that Shopee may have allegedly breached the offer contract for the employees who have not formally joined the company, citing claims of potential negligence by Shopee.
Speaking to Tech In Asia, Shopee said that “due to adjustments to hiring plans on some tech teams, a number of roles at Shopee are no longer available. We are working closely to support those affected.”
The affected employees have asked for compensation from Shopee for losses based on trust in the company, such as onboarding and reduction in property, transportation costs, travel and accommodation to travel to Singapore to join Shopee.
Tech In Asia said that Shopee could potentially pay employees with a month’s worth of salary, along with costs such as their flight tickets and hotel bookings.