Ninja Van lays off about 10% of regional tech team

Photo credit: Ninja Van

Ninja Van, a major logistics player in Southeast Asia, has laid off some of its tech staff amid ongoing initiatives to reduce costs.

“Following a recent cost evaluation, it was determined that less than 10% of the region’s tech team is no longer required,” a Ninja Van spokesperson confirmed to Tech in Asia.

The person added that the company has done other cost-cutting measures across its tech team, including infrastructural reorganization and outsourcing.

While the person did not provide any specific number of affected positions, a source close to the company told Tech in Asia that 21 people from Ninja Van’s Singapore tech office were laid off. This amounts to roughly 20% of the company’s tech team in the city-state, the source added.

In an email sent to staff seen by Tech in Asia, Cheehan Tee, Ninja Van’s vice president for engineering, said that the layoffs were “an absolute last resort” that the company had to take, as the outcome from its previous measures “still wasn’t enough.”

However, Tee stressed that Ninja Van is “not cutting the size and capability” of its tech team but is optimizing associated costs.

“Tech is critical in driving Ninja Van’s success, and we remain upbeat on the long-term outlook of the business, particularly the potential of the B2B Restock and Cold Chain initiatives,” Tee wrote.

The layoffs come after the Singapore-based company’s revenue declined 7% year on year in FY 2023, which was mainly due to an almost 20% drop in parcels handled. Its operating losses also grew 32% in the same period.

Lai Chang Wen, CEO of Ninja Van, was unfazed, expecting the company to report EBITDA breakeven in 2025. A factor that could help it get there is the firm’s expansion into new verticals, including its B2B arm Ninja Mart and its cold chain logistics business.

“Our mistake was thinking [ecommerce] was our only path,” Lai previously said.

Meanwhile, workers who were laid off were given a “reasonable severance package” to help with their transition from Ninja Van, said the spokesperson.

According to the email sent by Tee, those affected will have access to the company’s office and chat platform until the end of this week. Medical insurance and mental health support will be offered until June 30.

They will also be given job placement support, a month of severance pay per full year of employment, and garden leave until their official last day of May 31. The deadline set for exercising vested options was also extended from 30 days to 1 year for those affected.