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Sea Ltd. founder Forrest Li has announced the freezing of salaries for most staff and the pay out of lower bonuses in 2022.

This was done in preparation for "worsening global economic environment in 2023".

Sea is currently the parent company of gaming brand Garena, e-commerce platform Shopee and digital finance company SeaMoney.

According to Bloomberg, Sea Ltd. shares have since fallen more than 4 per cent ever since the announcement.

Rough 2022

As reported by Bloomberg, Li said in an internal memo, sighted by Bloomberg, that the company needs to focus on profitability after a difficult 2022.

Li also warned that the economy in 2023 may prove to be "even more challenging", citing the war in Ukraine and inflation around the world as the main factors.

As a result, employees who have not been promoted will see their salaries remaining the same, added Li.

Li ends off the memo saying that while such news can be hard to bear, especially around the holiday season, these changes are temporary while they work towards a bigger and brighter future.

He reportedly said that most of the necessary "big changes" have been completed and the company will be on a stable footing for the start of 2023.

A representative from Sea contacted by Bloomberg declined to comment on the memo.

Losses and cuts

Over the last few months, Sea has cut some 7,000 jobs, up to 10 per cent of its workforce, as it fought to stem increasing losses and win back investors.

According to CNA, staff cuts were also made at Garena in September 2022, which saw them shutting down their gaming livestream business and projects at their development unit.

Sea announced a Q2 net loss of US$931 million (S$1.26 billion), Nikkei Asia reported in Aug. 2022.

On Shopee's side, multiple staff across Southeast Asia and South Africa were laid off in June 2022, with others having job offers rescinded mere days before they were scheduled to start in August 2022.

Lion City Sailors CEO stepped down

Sea also owns Singapore Premier League football club Lion City Sailors FC.

According to a press release posted to their website on Dec. 23, Lion City Sailors Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chew Chun-Liang is set to step down at the end of 2022.

This marks the end of his two-year-run heading the football club.

In a statement, Li paid tribute to Chew, but did not mention who would be replacing him.

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Top photo via Glassdoor and Instagram/forrest_li_xiaodong