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E-commerce giant Shopee is reportedly laying off some employees in the region.

Mothership understands that some workers in its ShopeePay and ShopeeFood teams in the Southeast Asian region will be laid off.

Shopee will also lay off some workers in in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, as well as shutter operations in Spain, according to the Straits Times (ST).

Town hall conducted with employees, internal memo sent out

An international town hall that informed employees of the move was led by an executive from Shopee's parent firm Sea on Jun. 13, according to Tech In Asia.

An internal memo sent to staff on Jun. 13 by chief executive Chris Feng explained that the company was "making some adjustments" to optimise their operations in certain segments and markets, ST reported.

The memo cited "elevated uncertainty in the broader economy" for why it was making these changes.

Feng said the company will continue operating as usual in Mexico, Argentina and Chile. It will also continue to run ShopeeFood and ShopeePay in Southeast Asia.

He added that the company will do its best to support affected workers, and acknowledged the "major impact" the decision will have on them and their families.

Employees in regional offices affected

The memo did not state how many employees would be affected, nor which Southeast Asian countries the layoffs will occur.

Shopee has regional offices in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Its regional headquarters are in Singapore.

Mothership understands that this round of layoffs are not targeted at employees at the Singapore office.

Top photo via Kanchan Sarkar/Google Maps