Osome cuts staff anew as it vies for profitability

Osome has laid off a number of its staff in September, sources with knowledge of the matter told Tech in Asia.

In an email response to Tech in Asia, a company spokesperson said “less than 2%” of its workforce in its Singapore office were affected by the layoffs.

However, sources with knowledge of the matter said staff from the firm’s Malaysia office were also affected. The company has yet to confirm the latter.

This is Osome’s second round of layoffs within the span of a year. Tech in Asia previously reported that the Singapore-based online accounting startup cut about 70 employees at the end of 2023.

Osome founder and CEO Victor Lysenko / Photo credit: Osome

In a termination letter reviewed by Tech in Asia, staff found “redundant” were let go across “multiple departments.” The impacted employees were given only two days notice after being handed the termination letter on September 4.

“We have made the difficult decision to restructure certain parts of our organization to better align our resources and efforts with our goal of becoming profitable in 2024,” Osome CEO Victor Lysenko said in the letter.

The spokesperson added that the company aims to achieve profitability in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Founded in 2017 by Lysenko, Osome provides accounting, reporting, company formation, and other business management services to SMEs with the help of AI.

The company had previously told Tech in Asia that the earlier round of layoffs was done in an “attempt to break even.” Those job cuts were coupled with a string of resignations from accountants, which led to dissatisfied customers.

See also: Osome faces heat from customers following staff exits, layoffs

The recent layoffs come on the heels of Osome’s US$17 million series B extension round announced in May. The company said the round was a mix of equity and debt from new and old investors, which it did not identify. Its existing investors include Illuminate Financial, AFG Partners, and Winter Capital.

A few days after the September layoffs, Lysenko wrote in a LinkedIn post that Osome had become “cash-positive” for the “first time in August,” which he called “a critical point of development.”

The company spokesperson added that Osome achieved the feat with the help of “strong revenue growth” and its “restructuring” efforts earlier in the year.