Miguel Cordon · · 2 min readDelivery Hero-owned Baemin Vietnam slashes jobs
Photo credit: Baemin Vietnam
Baemin Vietnam, the joint venture between Delivery Hero and Woowa Brothers, has begun scaling down operations in its home market and laying off staff.
“Our decision to downside our operations in Vietnam is not one that was taken lightly,” Loan Cao, the company’s interim CEO, said in an email to staff seen by Tech in Asia.
“This decision has unfortunately been accelerated by the challenging food delivery environment in Vietnam, characterized by high incentivisation, driven both by intense competition and high consumer expectations,” said Cao, who took over as CEO after Jinwoo Song’s resignation was announced last week.
Tech in Asia has reached out to Baemin Vietnam for comment on the matter.
It’s unclear how many staff in Vietnam will be affected by the job cuts. The company has reportedly ceased operations in several localities such as Thai Nguyen, Hoi An, and Bac Ninh.
This news comes just one day after Foodpanda, another brand under Delivery Hero, announced its decision to reduce its headcount across its Asia-Pacific markets.
Delivery Hero has confirmed that it is in talks to offload Foodpanda in selected Southeast Asian markets. Scaling down Baemin Vietnam is understood to be a step toward complete withdrawal from the country.
Niklas Östberg, Delivery Hero’s co-founder and CEO, told Reuters in August that his company’s outlook on Asia was positive, except in Vietnam, where it does not see the business “ever being profitable.”
While it competes with platforms such as Grab, Gojek, and ShopeeFood in food delivery, Baemin Vietnam does not provide ride-hailing services.
However, it offers grocery delivery and operates its own kitchen. It also has a merchandise line called Baemin Studio and a beauty brand.
Baemin held a 12% share of the market in 2022, considerably lower than Grab’s 45% and ShopeeFood’s 41%, according to a recent report from venture builder Momentum Works.
See also: Foodpanda deal would cement Grab’s market dominance – if regulators allow it
Editing by Thu Huong Le and Eileen C. Ang
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