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One person's dream of a life working for Shopee in Singapore was over before it even began after the company rescinded the job offer he came here for.

The individual, writing under an account named "Lin Ge goes to Nanyang", took to WeChat to share his woes.

The write-up about his experience was posted on Aug. 27 and was titled "Three days since Shopee cancelled my offer".

Offer rescinded over the phone

Lin lamented that he had planned to use his newly created WeChat account to document his new life in Singapore, and would never have expected his first entry to be about how he lost his job.

His offer was rescinded by Shopee over the phone after he landed in Singapore with his wife and dog, he claimed.

So far, Shopee had only been in touch with him via phone calls or "unfeeling" emails, he added.

While they had offered compensation, Lin was not able to accept the offer and made a counter-proposal which he felt would be commensurate with his predicament.

After receiving an "unsubstantial" reply from Shopee on Aug. 26, Lin bemoaned that the process of seeking compensation from Shopee will involve multiple "back-and-forth".

He further advised other Chinese nationals who are in the same situation to try going to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to get an extension of their stay in Singapore in order to find a new job.

Multiple job offers rescinded

It appears that Lin was not the only one affected.

As Tech in Asia reported, multiple job offers have been rescinded by Shopee.

Chinese media outlet Jie Mian News reported that at least one other person had gone through the same experience.

Their offers were reportedly rescinded on Aug. 25.

According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), similar stories have also been shared by users on Maimai, China's version of LinkedIn.

Affected individuals have also reportedly come together in chat groups to explore options for legal recourse and for mutual support, Jie Mian News wrote.

The groups have supposedly gathered almost 260 members in total.

Roles no longer available

Sea, the technology conglomerate that owns Shopee, has confirmed in a statement to the media that changes to job offer arrangements had been made, according to SCMP.

“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”, Sea said in the statement.

Shopee has offered affected individuals a compensation of one month's salary and travel expenses, SCMP wrote.

According to Reuters, Sea has reported an almost US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) quarterly loss and as a result, is pulling the plug on its game livestream platform and some projects at its development unit.

A source with knowledge of the matter said about "dozens" of staff members at these departments had been let go, and added that Sea plans to boost its profitability.

A spokesperson for Sea did not reveal how many jobs were affected.

Layoffs at Shopee earlier in June

Shopee is owned by Singapore-based Sea Limited, and one of its largest stakeholders is Chinese tech company Tencent Holdings Limited. Sea limited is founded in 2015 by 45-year-old Forrest Li, who arrived in Singapore more than 15 years ago as a student , according to CNA.

Earlier in June, Shopee had also laid off employees throughout Southeast Asia, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.

In an internal memo shared then, chief executive Chris Feng explained that the layoffs were made to "optimise our operations in certain segments and markets".

Feng also noted an "elevated uncertainty in the broader economy" in the memo.

Mothership has reached out to Shopee for comments.

Top image via TheGreatSG'rean/Wikimedia Commons