Doctor Anywhere trims 8.1% workforce across Southeast Asia (update)

Healthtech startup Doctor Anywhere is laying off 8.1 percent of its workforce across Singapore and Southeast Asia, according to an internal email seen by The Business Times.

The move will impact 45 employees in roles deemed duplicative as the company streamlined operations and restructured its tech team, a Doctor Anywhere spokesperson confirmed on Friday (Dec 13).

The exercise did not affect any of the company’s medical doctors or other healthcare professionals.

Lim Wai Mun, founder and CEO of Doctor Anywhere, announced the layoffs in a company-wide e-mail earlier in the month.

Doctor Anywhere founder and CEO Lim Wai Mun/Photo credit: Doctor Anywhere

The company has already notified the affected employees, he wrote.

“In some markets, this process could take longer due to local laws and practices. Overall, we have reduced the size of our team by 8.1 per cent of our headcount to become more self-sustainable as a company,” he added.

The company has operations across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

See also: Doctor Anywhere grows revenue 58%, narrows losses in 2023

In the email, he apologised to the affected employees, and said that the company would provide “good support” to help them transition into new jobs.

This includes severance benefits exceeding statutory requirements – including severance pay based on tenure, notice period pay, leave encashment and extended healthcare coverage, where applicable – as well as immigration assistance where necessary, the spokesperson said.

“We have also offered alternative internal job matching where suitable, and are continuing to hire for other functions,” the spokesperson added.

Founded in 2017, Doctor Anywhere is among Singapore’s largest telehealth platforms, serving more than one million users locally.

The company also operates a network of general practitioner clinics and a 12,000-square-foot health screening centre at Como Metropolitan Orchard, home-based healthcare services and medical concierge services, on top of its telemedicine offerings.