Alibaba-backed Pakistani ecommerce firm to slash 11% of headcount

Photo credit: Daraz

Daraz, a Pakistani ecommerce firm backed by Alibaba, is cutting 11% of its total headcount, CEO Bjarke Mikkelsen announced in a message to employees yesterday.

According to Daraz’s corporate website, the company has about 3,000 employees, which means about 330 jobs will be affected.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

The startup, which was launched in 2012, says that within the past five years, it has attracted 15 million active users. It also experienced an average order growth of over 100% within the same period until last year.

In the past 12 months, the market “became extremely difficult with a war in Europe, huge supply chain disruptions, soaring inflation, increasing taxes and removal of essential government subsidies in our markets,” Mikkelsen said.

To adjust to the lower growth outlook, Daraz will refocus its core business and “simplify” the organization to improve profitability and save costs, he added.

The company was acquired in an undisclosed deal by Alibaba from German venture builder Rocket Internet in 2018 and has grown to become one of Pakistan’s most valuable startups. In addition to operating its own logistics and payment services, Daraz’s marketplace connects sellers and consumers.

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