Alibaba-owned Lazada embarks on a significant round of layoffs across all Southeast Asian markets, impacting potentially hundreds of employees. The move is part of a proactive workforce transformation to enhance agility and streamline operations, reflecting ongoing challenges in the competitive Southeast Asian e-commerce landscape.
6 January 2024 – In the wake of widespread reports on downsizing at Southeast Asian e-commerce giant Lazada, owned by Alibaba, the company has commenced a fresh round of layoffs affecting employees across all Southeast Asian markets. Although the exact number remains undisclosed, the impact is speculated to be significant, potentially numbering in the hundreds, with Singapore facing the brunt of the cutbacks.
A spokesperson from Lazada in Singapore refrained from confirming the layoffs but asserted that proactive adjustments are being made to reshape the workforce for enhanced agility and streamlined operations. The restructuring aims to position Lazada strategically to meet future business needs, necessitating a thorough reassessment of workforce requirements and operational structures.
Lazada, operating in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, spans all functions, including commercial, retail, and marketing. The layoffs are reportedly underway this week, impacting employees at various levels, with affected individuals receiving meeting invitations from the company without detailed information.
Acquired by Alibaba in 2016, Lazada operates as a subsidiary under the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, alongside AliExpress, Trendyol, and Daraz. Intense competition in the region from rivals such as Sea Limited’s Shopee and TikTok Shop, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has intensified the challenges for Lazada.
The e-commerce landscape in Southeast Asia has witnessed significant shifts, with GoTo and TikTok recently announcing a partnership in Indonesia, merging Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia. TikTok will acquire a controlling stake of 75.01% and invest $1.5 billion over time, responding to Indonesia’s ban on e-commerce on social media platforms in October.
Lazada’s leadership has experienced numerous changes, with James Dong taking over as Lazada Group CEO in June 2022. This comes amid broader corporate upheavals for Alibaba in 2023, including the abandonment of plans to spin off its cloud business and a comprehensive management shake-up. – ref: CNBC
