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Miguel Cordon · · 2 min readFoodpanda slashes APAC workforce as potential sale looms
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As a potential sale of its business looms, Foodpanda has laid off a number of its employees in Asia Pacific.
In a statement to Tech in Asia, the food delivery firm said, “The need to streamline our operations to become leaner and more agile remains critical.” But it didn’t reveal the size of the retrenchment.
“These decisions are always very tough and know it affects all of you, so I am truly sorry we have to put everyone through this,” Foodpanda CEO Jakob Sebastian Angele said in letter to staff seen by Tech in Asia.
Angele said Foodpanda needs to have “the right set-up” for its operations. In February, it already laid off an undisclosed number of its staff, citing the challenging macroeconomic environment.
Earlier today, its parent company Delivery Hero confirmed to Tech in Asia separately that it is in discussions with several parties regarding a potential sell-off of Foodpanda in selected Southeast Asian markets.
The company previously told Bloomberg that such a deal would include the food delivery platform’s operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and the Philippines.
One of the potential buyers of Foodpanda is Grab, which already commands a large share of Southeast Asia’s food delivery market.
Delivery Hero’s share price had dropped significantly from its peak in July, but appears to be rebounding after reports of a potential sale of its Asian business resurfaced.
Foodpanda and Baedal Minjok are just two of Delivery Hero’s many brands. The company works in more than 70 countries and has over 600,000 partner restaurants. It has a presence in regions like Africa, South America, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa.
It’s unclear if Delivery Hero will also be divesting Baedal Minjok, which serves the South Korean and Vietnamese market.
See also: Foodpanda deal would cement Grab’s market dominance – if regulators allow it
Editing by Thu Huong Le and Dhania Putri Sarahtika
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“The need to streamline our operations to become leaner and more agile remains critical,” the food delivery firm told Tech in Asia.
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