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Hello reader,
These past couple of years have seen many companies let go of their employees. While I’m not surprised at the news of One Championship’s latest round of layoffs, it doesn’t make it any less disheartening.
Considering that this is happening despite the company achieving “new highs” in its key markets, as shared by its chief executive Chatri Sityodtong, it feels like there’s no such thing as job security anymore.
I wish the best of luck to all affected personnel.
Today we look at:
- One Championship’s latest layoffs
- Pony.ai’s filing for a US IPO
- Other newsy highlights such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s latest profit numbers and Netflix’s growing subscriber count
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No perfect world
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Singapore-based combat sports organization One Championship has laid off “a few dozen” employees as part of a cost-cutting strategy aimed at bringing the company to profitability.
Talking about the “difficult step” in an internal email sent to staff, chief executive Chatri Sityodtong said the external global macroeconomic environment remains “both challenging and uncertain” and capital markets continue “to demand immediate profitability and profit maximization.”
- Sigh: “In a perfect world, we would keep everyone,” Sityodtong wrote. “However, the reality is that our board of directors and shareholders all demand imminent profitability from One (Championship).”
- Improving numbers: According to regulatory filings, the company posted a net loss of US$61.7 million for its financial year ended December 2022, narrowing losses from the US$111 million loss it recorded the year before. Its revenue rose to US$84.5 million for FY2022, up from US$67.7 million. Records for 2023 and 2024 were unavailable.
- Who was affected: While Sityodtong did not disclose which markets were affected, a source close to the matter revealed that the layoffs were worldwide, with the Singapore workforce “hardest hit.” The cuts were across departments, including client services, finance, marketing and public relations, broadcast, and esports, the source added.
Read more: One Championship cuts dozens of staff in push for profitability
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