PropertyGuru lays off 79 employees amid strategic shift

PropertyGuru’s listing in NYSE / Photo credit: NYSE

Proptech giant PropertyGuru has laid off 79 employees, or roughly 5% of its workforce.

In a message to employees, CEO Hari V. Krishnan cited changing customer needs and a volatile market in Southeast Asia as the main factors for the strategic shift.

PropertyGuru will shut down non-scalable businesses, including two branches in Vietnam. The company previously noted that revenue growth in Vietnam had been slowing, shown by the 32.8% year-on-year drop in Q3 2023.

The slowdown in the country – which was happening throughout 2023 – came as many projects crawled to a halt in Vietnam and capital continued to be scarce amid market turmoil.

In the letter announcing the layoffs, PropertyGuru also mentioned it will proceed with the plan to completely sunset FastKey, a SaaS product connecting agents with development projects.

Last year, the company announced the closures of Rumah, an online property portal in Indonesia, and FastKey.

While Rumah ceased operations last November, FastKey will be discontinued in Indonesia by July 31, 2024, followed by Malaysia and Singapore by October 15, 2024.

All these actions are aimed at enhancing profitability and ensuring long-term sustainability, PropertyGuru said in the letter.

The firm is also streamlining overall operations by consolidating technology delivery, redesigning customer support roles, and making adjustments to its organizational structure.

Recently, Steve Melhuish, the co-founder of PropertyGuru and its inaugural CEO, stepped down from the company’s board of directors to venture into the climate tech sector.

See also: PropertyGuru’s financial health in 6 charts