Singapore-based classifieds unicorn Carousell has laid off 76 employees from its business and technology teams across Asia, including Singapore.
CEO Quek Siu Rui announced the decision during a company town hall meeting on Friday, after which the impacted employees were notified individually by their managers and HR representatives.
According to a Tech in Asia report, a company spokesperson explained in a statement that the layoff was part of a reorganisation effort to enhance the group’s “long-term sustainability and operational efficiency”.
“The reallocation of resources to areas that are showing promise is necessary to match the market reality in some business units,” said the spokesperson.
Singapore’s National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU), which represents Carousell’s Singapore-based employees, confirmed that they had been informed of the retrenchment.
According to CMPU, Carousell assured that alternative measures, such as redeploying affected employees to other suitable roles, had been considered before proceeding with the layoffs.
To support the laid-off staff, Carousell is providing severance packages equivalent to one month’s salary for each year of service, with a minimum payout of three months. Medical and insurance coverage for affected employees and their dependents will continue until June 2025 wherever feasible, the company said. Additional support includes career counselling, job search assistance, and access to relevant tools.
Non-Singaporean employees on work visas will receive relocation assistance and the option to serve their full notice periods to maintain their residency status. In addition, unionised employees in Singapore will have their union membership fees fully subsidised for one year. NTUC and CMPU will also offer job-matching services and career advisory support.
In January, Carousell’s Indonesia operations, Laku6, an electronics recommerce business, reduced its workforce by 17%. The group has slashed some efforts to reduce its costs since Dec 2022. It was cutting 10% of the group’s total headcount or about 110 roles and shut down its OneKyat platform in Myanmar due to operational challenges.
According to its filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) for the financial year ended Dec. 31 2023, the company’s top expense was employee benefits ($64.7 million), which remained stable compared with the previous year, although it had slashed 10% of its headcount in Dec 2022.
Salaries, commissions, and bonuses were the biggest contributors to employee benefit expenses, at $46.2 million. Other increasing expenses, including changes in inventories of finished goods, which rose 114% to reach $49 million, and office-related expenses, which surged 41% to $2.4 million.
Carousell reported a net loss of $38.1 million, down by 40% from $63.1 million. Its revenue jumped 40% to $115.9 million, the majority contributed from recommerce business, accounting for 46% of revenue to $52.7 million, followed by classifieds advertising at $47.75 million.
Carousell has more than 25 direct and indirect subsidiaries in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. In Singapore, it manages platforms such as Refash, Ox Street, LuxLexicon, and OneShift.
