Fired TheMobileGamer staff voice grievances online, CEO Alvin Yap responds

Update: Elaboration from Vichi Lestari about Indonesian labor law and whether companies are obliged to follow it.

Singapore startup TheMobileGamer (TMG) is going through a shake-up, and this was confirmed by CEO and co-founder Alvin Yap last week when he gave a talk at a Founder Institute Singapore event where media were invited. He said that the company, which distributes mobile games to emerging markets, had recently fired 40 percent of its workforce.

While startups often have to downsize due to unpredictable market conditions, this incident was unusual in how ex-employees ventured online to anonymously talk about TMG.

Former TMGers recount what happened

Tech in Asia spoke to three ex-employees on the condition of anonymity to verify the series of events. Their identities have been kept hidden for their protection.

In total, around 12 employees in Indonesia and between five to ten staff in Singapore were let go. Several other employees had resigned before the firings occurred.

One employee, who left the company voluntarily, did so because of his disappointment with TMG management. “I resigned because it is very hard to continue working with this situation.”

Prior to the termination, affected employees did not receive any notice and were in the middle of several company projects. We were told that there were no clear reasons given for the layoffs at that point in time, although the management had stated that they were done for “efficiency”.

Terminated employees were then given two to three days to pack their stuff and leave the office once their redundancy was made known. The management allegedly decided on the compensation package of two months’ salary and paid leave without any discussion with employees.

Affected individuals were then supposedly asked to gather on September 11, one day after Alvin spoke at the recent Founders Institute event in Singapore. That day, a “resignation” letter was shown to the fired staff. They were told that they must sign it in order to receive a compensation package and a recommendation letter for future employers.

One by one, terminated employees met Alvin and two other individuals in a conference room. They were told that the firing decisions were made in accordance with Singapore regulations because employees were contracted to a Singapore company.

Amongst other grievances, a common theme that emerged among ex-employees was the anger they felt at having to bear responsibility for the management’s alleged missteps.

“It all points to [Alvin’s] initial decisions. At some point, TMG was losing its direction,” says one employee.

TMG’s CEO responds

In an official statement made to Tech in Asia by CEO Alvin Yap (full statement below), after the ex-employees’ claims were made known to him, he points out that the content of his routine sharing at the event was not meant to generate publicity nor was it an official statement towards TMG’s activities.

Unresolved questions