E-commerce company Lazada reportedly laid off a number of its staff from the Singapore office on Jan. 3, 2024.

The Straits Times reported that an "undisclosed number" of the Singapore staff were laid off.

Tech in Asia stated that Lazada laid off up to 30 per cent of its staff.

A Lazada spokesperson declined to disclose the exact number of workers in Singapore or Southeast Asia who were axed and whether staff had received a severance package, Business Times reported.

Making proactive adjustment to transform workforce: Lazada

However, the spokesperson said the company was making "proactive adjustments to transform our workforce, to better position ourselves for a more agile, streamlined way of working to meet future business needs," ST reported.

The spokesperson also added that the retrenchment was necessary to reassess its workforce requirement and operational structure to "ensure Lazada is better positioned to future-proof our business and people".

ST reported that it understood that a round of layoffs was also conducted in October 2023 and the latest job cuts come amid speculation that an initial public offering is in the works.

The Singapore-headquartered firm now operates under Alibaba International Digital Commerce (AIDC).

AIDC’s potential initial public offering in the United States in 2024 was first reported in May 2023, according to ST.

Employees received calendar invites to meet with human resources

The Edge Singapore reported that the employees received calendar invites for individual meetings with human resources on Jan. 2 at the end of the work day.

Retrenchments commenced the next day.

One employee affected by the layoff told The Edge Singapore that the human resources department reserved meeting rooms for the remainder of the week.

On LinkedIn, former senior vice president of category management for Lazada Malaysia, Luca Sunio, posted why people should hire ex-Lazada employees.

He then linked a Google Sheets document where former Lazada employees from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia have filled in their names, previous positions at Lazada and provided their CVs.

NTUC and FDAWU "disappointed" at Lazada's move

In a statement to the media, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and their affiliated union, Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), said they were "deeply disappointed" at Lazada's retrenchment exercise.

Lazada, unionised under FDAWU, did not notify or consult FDAWU before it initiated a retrenchment exercise.

FDAWU has since written to Lazada to express their disappointment, stating that such a move is "unacceptable".

NTUC added that the matter has been escalated to the Ministry of Manpower.

"NTUC stands by FDAWU and [its] affected workers. We too are extremely disappointed in this move by Lazada," NTUC said.

It is crucial for companies to work with their union to ensure a fair and equitable process is carried out to safeguard the interests of all workers, NTUC reiterated.

It also stated that while retrenchment may be inevitable, companies should exhaust all other options first, as retrenchment should only be the last resort.

NTUC appealed to companies to be considerate about the timing of such exercises by avoiding carrying them out during festive periods.

The statement added: "In the event of retrenchment, companies must ensure openness, transparency and consultation with unions and workers, and observe the guiding principles outlined in NTUC's Fair Retrenchment Framework and the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment."

Mothership has reached out to Lazada for comments.

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